Unexpected
by Mystique84
Summary: It's been 6 years since phoenix, Logan and Ororo have just one night, no commitment, but it ends with Ororo becoming pregnant. Mutant hate, Magneto back in power and team troubles, Ororo must deal with it all and the future of her child with Logan.
1. Prelude

**Chapter 0.5**

**Prelude **

The last 6 years had been somewhat difficult but rewarding at the same time to Ororo Munroe. Being the head of Xavier's school of Mutants and the leader of the Xmen had not been challenging at all for her. In fact, she couldn't imagine life different. But it was dealing with the death of the only family she knew that almost killed Ororo, but having her new family helped her along. Her new family consisted of the new Xmen (along with some of the old members).

The years had passed by fast for all the Xmen, the younger of the Xmen had long ago graduated, and were now teaching at the school themselves, or in the case of Rogue, being the on call doctor. Life had been difficult for her since the cure, many mutants rejected the Cure physically (so their powers returned, painfully at that) as the government at the time had not enough time to check if the cure was permanent when they administrated it. So Marie, better known as Rogue, was once again forced to wear gloves on her hands.

The cure, discovered as being faulty with 3 out of 4 mutants, was being re-examined to make a more permanent Cure, lasting for a Mutant's life time. It was known that Magneto once again gained back his powers after only a few months, but the Xmen and Ororo were unsure about his other followers (Mystique being the most loyal and the most sadistic). When Magneto gained back full power, he took over a small country, Genosha, and used it as a safe Haven for all mutants.

Some new members had joined the Xmen over the last 6 years, whether to help make the world a better place, or in hope to fix past mistakes by helping others. Warren had felt he would no longer be accepted at any place, but when the younger students looked up to him for advice or asked him questions on his wings, he gained back his confidence in himself, however slowly, and eventually joined the team, but he only ventured out the gate of the school if the team desperately needed him.

Emma Frost, the young telepath, found her way to the school. Years before, when the first students came to the school, Emma always said she would come back to the school one day to learn more about her power, to increase it to the point of Xavier. She came back a few years ago in the hope to find Charles Xavier waiting for her, waiting to help find her sister. Instead she found his grave.

Emma stayed. Mainly because Ororo asked her too, mainly because she discovered Logan at the school, he stirred in one of her memories and Logan was there just before her sister (Kayla) went missing, she searched his mind frequently but never found much except a few memories of her sister during the event of her release, never revealing much about his relationship with her.

It was actually very lucky that Emma came back when she did, as Rogue was contemplating taking the new cure to suppress her powers permanently, Emma promised her that if Rogue could not control her powers within a year, she should take the cure. 2 years later, they were still working on it, but Rogue could go for hours holding someone's hand and not harm them at all.

Bobby was still the same happy-go-lucky person, but he and Rogue were not all that pleasant to each other, as she had broken up with him for just too many differences in their personalities (and she thought that Bobby liked Kitty just a little too much), Bobby was still bitter about this and treated Rogue just like before, but sometimes when she mentioned other men he would tease her about it ("He's acting like a child" Rogue had commented after one unfortunate date where Bobby had teased her when it ended in tears).

Kitty was in her last year of college, but made the trips back at the institute when she was needed for a major mission, Peter (also known as Colossus, or metal man by Logan) stayed with the school, teaching Geography (seeing as he travelled to most countries trying to escape Mutant hate groups) and going on missions with the rest of the group.

Logan was the same as ever, the same wolf like Wolverine was vicious in his attacks. Right after Jean, Scott and Xavier died, Logan gave the cold shoulder to anyone and if anyone tried to change that (even Rogue) he would act violently towards them, showing off his sharp claws. After a few months of this behaviour, Ororo told him to take off, clear his head and come back when he thinks he could handle the world again.

Ororo, expecting Logan to take off and never look back (having no reason to stay now) came back after only a few months, she was pleasantly surprised with this and asked if Logan would like a position as a teacher when he stayed within the school grounds, talking to the kids and teachers, for the rest of that year, Ororo thought he had finally turned a new leaf.

He denied at first, but when he saw one of the younger children being bullied on the streets because of his fork tongue, Logan asked if he could teach gym and combat class, teaching the kids self defence and useful exercises if they were ever in trouble.

Of course being a man with no memory and being the person he was, Logan took off every few months, sometimes a week at a time without telling anyone. After this happened the few first times (and after a yelling match which ended in a lighting zap) Logan told Ororo that he would tell someone he was leaving, and after that he was nicer to Ororo, even offering to mark mountain loads of homework she had to do.

But no matter how much the new Xmen tried, Mutants were still discriminated against. Hank, being the first mutant governor, may have provided a little more safety for Mutants, but not by much. Governments still tried to pass laws on Mutant registration, but Hank always got these laws rejected by using mutant and human alike spokes persons to defend the case, sometimes even using Ororo as the voice of Mutant children.

However, with so much progress in the government, some Mutants still ruined it. Even by accident of a Mutant teenager experiencing his or her powers for the first time, it pushed all that understanding of Mutants away, and the human citizens of the country still wanted Mutant registration.

On such a mission, the group known as the Xmen were coming back from a long mission, trying to convince a group of street mutants that paying back humans by wrecking their homes was not the way to live, however the team of homeless teens didn't think this was an option. In short, it was like a normal mission, fighting and yelling, humans screaming in fright and the Xmen trying to calm them down.

Ororo came home depressed (as did the rest of the older Xmen), the mission was successful in some sense, but the mutants were too dangerous and were forced into custody by the M.R.D, a group that protected humans and Mutants from each other by separating them. They didn't believe in the cure (which Ororo was thankful for) but they did believe in locking up mutants or using them for their own devices, till they saw it fit to let the Mutants back into society (but that didn't happen for months or years at a time).

This is where our story starts.

**Author note!**

**Hey, this is the author and I would like to make some points before I give you the next chapter.**

**I have made a full plan for this story, so don't worry not updating for months because of writers block (I spent a full week and a half just planning so you know it is fully planned and I don't have to think about events in a chapter) and they are long chapters, just to make you feel happy. (1)**

**I enjoy reviews, I write faster, I know if you want something and they just make me feel I am not wasting my time writing this story (2)**

**I am not going to be one of those losers who make the main character have twins in the end and they are a boy and a girl. I hate those and I think it ruins the story. So it's a one single sex baby and you don't find out what it is till the end. (3)**

**Suggestions for names! I would love if you leave a review on suggestions for names, and could you give me a reason for the name, like, I don't know Eg. John: after a character or someone Logan knew in his past (4)**

**I hate how they made Remy (Gambit) like 20 years older than Rogue, so in this story he is way older than her, but only by about 7 years. So please don't hate me! Just that I am a big ROMY fan (Rogue and Remy) and I do have some funny moments planned with them. (5)**

**I have used Kayla Silverfox in this story, but only by mention, Emma Frost is actually meant to be her sister (in Xmen Origins, Emma is played by Tahyna Tozzi the girl in the story who has the 'unique skin') but Emma hadn't seen her sister in years and had no contact with Kayla for awhile, plus she never saw the interaction between Kayla and Logan, so she doesn't know about their relationship. (6)**

**Jean, Scott and Xavier are still dead, they are mentioned later on but only in one chapter, I love that chapter, and I will not bring anyone back from the dead. (7)**

**Sabertooth is Logan's brother (he is mentioned later on in the story) he never died or nothing, also the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are mentioned later on as well (Magneto's son and daughter...he didn't know about them till they were teens, and that is actually in the comic books) (8)**

**Mystique is closer to her comic book character (she comes back later on in the story) so if you want a preview on what she could be up to, go on Wiki and read about her character. She is still an insane bitch, but she has calmed down a bit. And I only mean a bit. (9)**

**And number 10, I am keeping the characters as close to their characters as possible in the movieverse, so there will be no Lovey Dovey moments of Ororo and Logan (eg 'I always loved you' 'I always loved you too!' run across the room and kiss) cause that just sucks, there will be tender moments, but Logan will still be awkward about it, cause let's face it, it's Logan and Ororo (I'm sorry to say) is just a little bit cold, not like she will give the cold shoulder to everyone, but she is not really one for public affection (also, I didn't like her with her new hair cut, so just think of her with the cool black tips but with slightly longer hair)**

**So those are just a few notes, review and subscribe and make a little girl in Australia happy**


	2. Just One Night

**Chapter 1**

**Just one Night**

The mission was a bust, M.R.D would not agree with it being a failure, but the Xmen knew they failed. The teenagers they were trying to help were caught just like the Xmen planned, but they didn't plan for them to be taken into custody. So Ororo Munroe knew exactly why Logan was so upset, and didn't blame him.

The second the jet landed on the ground, Ororo opened the jet door and Logan jumped out and stalked off. Ororo ran after him, her cape swaying behind her. She grabbed Logan's shoulder, making him stop "You're not taking off again?" she asked, it was meant to be a command but Logan always did what he wanted, no matter what she asked.

"I just need some time by myself Storm" using her code name instead of her real name, Ororo always knew that he used code names instead of real when he was angry or anxious, or just wanted to distance himself from the rest of the team. Ororo always found it an enjoyable part of Logan's animal-like personality when he did choose to use a person's real name, and she found it upsetting when he did call her Storm when they weren't on a mission.

It was like a part of her died a little bit when that happened.

Ororo let go of his shoulder and he shook it off, walking into the male changing room, first out of the 2 other men on the Xmen mission. Ororo just stood for a moment, hating Logan that he could just leave all these worries behind at any split second, he could leave this school behind and worry about his own troubles, while Ororo had to stay behind and pick up the pieces he left behind.

"Just let him be Ororo" Emma said, gliding next to her, Ororo felt someone looking around her mind, pulling up memories of what just happened, hearing a small voice whisper '_Logan again?' _and _'Is this an obsession?'. _Ororo had lived with Professor Xavier for years so she no longer found it disturbing when someone read her mind, but she did not appreciate it.

"Could you not read my mind for once Emma? I know that you like to know everything, but there are some things I like to keep to myself" Ororo said, stalking off to the female changing room, remarking to herself that she herself was acting a lot like Logan right now. Ororo shook her head, she would never be like Logan, she would always take her problems head on and never make anyone else help her fix it.

Behind her back she heard Emma mutter "You're more alike than you think". Ororo ground her teeth together, she was nothing like him. She wanted to forget things she had seen in her life, he wanted to remember it all, everything he had ever done, said, loved. Two very different people.

Nothing in common, at all.

While she was taking off her tight leather uniform Ororo wondered why she ever put up with Logan's problems of taking off every other month. She found it so annoying, but Logan was getting better. Ororo smiled at a memory she had of one fight with Logan where he yelled at her for trying to make him stay when the children were having parent's day (a day which he hated above all others since he actually had to talk to people), she yelled back, telling him that he had to stay. Eventually it was bad enough that she gave him a small shock to make him shut up.

However, he still yelled at her. Ororo found it refreshing that someone argued with her, usually the students, teachers and Xmen would agree with her since Ororo apparently had the best ideas, but Logan always wanted to go into a mission with guns blazing. Ororo always wondered why this was, was it because Logan had a healing factor and if that plan didn't work he could always go back and try again?

The last week she took Logan up on his offer, telling him that he could lead the next mission, this mission. Logan was actually a pretty good leader, they caught the group of teenage Mutants in no time at all, holding them all down to 'listen', (as Logan referred to it) half the group listened to Logan, saying they were sorry for wrecking those buildings.

The other half, alternatively, did not like being caught the way they were, so they used their powers to get out of the confined area that Logan pushed them into and started to fight back, fighting like no tomorrow. Ororo, expecting the group to be just a group of scared Mutant teens, didn't bring much back up, so the Xmen were unprepared for a large fight with the Mutant children. But having the majority of the team with them did give the Xmen the advantage.

So once again, the Mutant adolescences were caught and just as Logan was about to bring them back on the plane, the M.R.D team came. Ororo didn't hate M.R.D per say, but she didn't approve of them. Being caught by M.R.D wasn't as bad as the Cure but it was like high security jail, you weren't given a sentence, you just had to hope they let you out eventually.

Before Senator Kelly died, he had started the process of the M.R.D team, a team that would take Mutants into custody and hold them there. When the government discovered about Mystique pretending to be Senator Kelly they finally bought in a new Senator and he carried on the plan of M.R.D, as the Cure was forbidden to be given to Mutants unless they had a few offences on file, but those dangerous Mutants had to go somewhere. And after 5 years, that horrible dream finally came true.

M.R.D had a warrant to bring in the teenage Mutants to their facility, Logan tried to start a fight but Ororo had to stop him, he was up against 100 M.R.D team agents with guns and all he had was his claws. Quite even, Ororo thought, but they didn't want to shed any blood.

So, against everything the Xmen believed in, they had to hand the teens over. The second they did Logan stormed off on to the jet and didn't mutter a single word the whole way back, not even Emma could bring a word to his lips except 'Stop playing with my head Frost'.

As Ororo stepped out of the changing room she ran into Rogue, who dropped all the medical files she was holding onto the ground. "Ah no!" she said in her southern twang, bending down to pick up the files.

"Oh Rogue, I am so sorry" Ororo said, bending down to pick up the files with the young doctor, "I'm just-"

"Not concentrating?" Rogue finished, picking herself up from the floor, Ororo shoved the files into Rogue's hands "Have ya seen Logan? I gotta ask him about the mission, ya know, for records and stuff"

"You better not, Logan is a bit upset how the mission ended" Ororo said, Rogue gave her a questioning look, her head tilted to the side like a puppy "M.R.D came and took the children back to their base"

"Ah" Rogue hissed, she shifted the files in her hand "Well, Ah'll just write that up then...Ah-Ah'm sorry about the mission" she tucked a stray white hair behind her ear to join the brown, "Do ya know where Logan is though?"

Ororo sighed, when Rogue went back home to her parents after she took the Cure but she didn't feel at home there anymore. When she voiced this concern to her parents, they told her she was adopted.

Rogue got upset and her power flared up again, almost killing her with the pain, she came back to the school looking for help and understanding. Logan comforted her (telling Rogue to never ever tell anyone about his softer side) and told her to stay at the school and keep her powers.

Rogue and Logan were very close, something Ororo got jealous over (the fact that even though Logan was a gruff and sarcastic person at times, he still had someone who wanted to spend time with him) but Logan deserved someone in this world, and she was glad it was with someone who was so misunderstood as he.

Ororo exhaled, thinking of the best way to tell Rogue he didn't want to see anyone, not even her "He wants to spend some time alone, Rogue" Ororo did feel sympathetic towards the down poured look on Rogue's face, but Ororo had some more pressing matters to attend too. "I'll see you later Rogue"

"Yeah, bye" Rogue mumbled, shifting the files and walking down to the med lab.

Ororo walked down the gleaming white halls, she knew she had a lot of work to do, but she couldn't get the look of Logan's face out of her head. Logan always had this cocky look to him, he knew he was always going to get the job done. And his job was to save mutants. But that look of failure that crossed his face when the M.R.D team took those teenagers away was the worst thing Ororo ever saw.

But she couldn't let him wallow in pity, take off and come back after a few weeks, covering up that failure with blood of humans. She had to talk to him, if he liked it or not. She would not let him turn into _that _mutant, the one that killed humans just for saying a word against Mutants.

Although he did that now, Ororo could always stop him, but he was stronger than her and could easily take down Ororo or any other member of the Xmen. But maybe this time he would stay, Ororo hoped, unlikely that he would, but she did have faith in Logan for doing the right thing.

Students passed Ororo in the halls, most of them were teenagers, but some of them were younger. Because most mutants now were in their 30s, some of them were having Mutant children, unfortunately some of the children's mutation could easily be seen. But fortunately, most of the children looked like any other human, but they did get out of control when they were younger, and more so than other Mutant teens.

In one incident, somewhere in England, an 8 year old child of a single level 3 Mutant mother, was almost killed by Mutant-phobic teens, so using his power of acid generation, he almost burned all their skin off.

The child in question was sitting with his peers now, talking like any other 8 year old about juvenile matters such as superheros and how much getting homework sucked. Ororo smiled at him, and the boy and his friends all waved back at their principle of their school, their safe haven.

Ororo looked around the school once, not finding Logan, but she did see his bike (that belonged to Scott for so long), so she knew he hadn't taken off yet, but he was hiding from her. He knew she wanted to talk to him. Ororo shrugged, sitting down at her desk and pulling out papers regarding registration for new students whose parents wrote in asking if their child could attend the school.

Ororo sometimes wished that all the children could live at the school, but they didn't have enough room for so many borders, so she had to go through the lists, see which students could make it to the school every day or which lived in another state, or another country, then go through those and figure which students could get to school safely, as an obvious mutation would not be seen as fit on the local school bus.

It was hard work, as mutants who had run away from home or were abandoned unexpectedly were hard to place in a full school, so there had to be a few spare rooms for those mutants, or they had to be shoved into full rooms. It was hard work, and it was even harder to tell Mutant children that they couldn't live at the school because there wasn't enough room for them. But Ororo tried hard to make room.

It was up to the point now where most of the children had to share rooms with 4 or 5 others when the room was made for 2 (Ororo used the magical invention of the bunk bed for most of those, or she moved the beds around as best as she could), but some of the older children who were just reaching puberty hated the idea of sharing a room with a teen who had already gone through it all and was comfortable with their bodies once more.

So teenage angst ran high in the school, and Ororo had to deal with fights, rumours and 'female cramps' of all the older students. The younger ones were just there to have fun, most of them knew about the world outside of the gate, but they choose to ignore it all which Ororo admired. So, with all the normal teenage problems, Ororo had to deal with fights that usually ended with powers being used.

Being the head of a school of teens was not that difficult, but being the head of a school full of teenage Mutants was. Add the fact that Ororo was the leader of the Xmen to the mix you would have a life that left no time for a personal life of any sorts.

Time was passing by quickly for Ororo Munroe, and sometimes she felt she was going to leave nothing to show for it. Sure, she was the head of a school and the leader of the Xmen but that could be passed on to the next leader when it was time, she had no major accomplishments that people would know her for, sometimes it made Ororo just that little bit depressed.

Ororo didn't realise it, but she had been working for hours without getting anything done, out of all the paper work she had to do she had barely made a dent in it and it was already pitch black outside. The yells of the children outside were turned into whispers every now and again above her head, footsteps of the other teachers making their rounds of the school were silent, meaning they went to bed themselves.

She could just imagine the smaller children begging to stay up, the older ones begging for them to shut up so they could go to sleep themselves, it always made her smile when they asked if they could stay up that little later to watch TV.

Ororo's whole life was for the children, watching them leave for the summer was the most gut wrenching moment of the year 'empty nest syndrome' Emma called it, Emma and the rest of the team never felt the same way, but then again, they all had the chance to go out on the town while she got to sit in the Rec rooms most nights and watch movies with the kids.

And she knew it was horrible to think it, but she was kind of glad of the ones who had been abandoned or run away since they got to stay at the school all summer with her, meaning she wasn't completely crushed. Ororo moved the papers away from her, she looked around the room, it used to be Charles Xavier's but now it was hers, but it showed no sign of changes since then.

There was a picture of her and the first Xmen team on the wall, of her, Jean and Scott, all sitting around Xavier. There were a few pictures of Jean and Scott (together or with Ororo) then there was a picture of the new Xmen team, she had one of the students take this picture a few years back, she showed it off proudly, seeing this was the biggish accomplishment of her life so far.

She looked at the picture of Xavier, wishing that he was still there, her family had died when Ororo was young and she was left on the streets of Africa, she pick pocketed for most of her life, then she was found by a tribe and made their African Queen because of her ability to control the weather. It was not a life fit for a young pre-teen girl, so when Xavier offered her a place at his school, she jumped at the chance, living her twisted world behind.

But she never knew how difficult life would be here in America.

Ororo let her head drop onto the desk, "Ow" she muttered darkly to herself, not expecting it to hurt her head so much. Her arms curled around her head, her stark white hair covering any of her face that could have been showing, she was still for a moment, just waiting for any more sounds.

When she thought no one could see her or hear her, she let a tear escape, then she started to have a full flown crying fit. It was too much sometimes, all this work and nothing to relieve her with, she wished she could just have one night. One night where she could just let herself go and just do something for her.

But she couldn't, she had too many responsibilities, so the only way she could let go of all her stress, was a tear down her cheek, an extra session in the danger room once a week, and a yelling match with Logan every other month. Nothing much, but it kept her sane.

But even now, she had no time for the danger room session and Logan was being moody all by himself. Ororo wanted to yell, scream, shout her frustration of the world, she could make a giant storm, or a hurricane, but she couldn't, she had to keep the school safe. But she wanted to do something stupid so badly.

"You okay Ororo?" a gruff voice said, startling her. She jumped up, and she knew she must have looked like a drowned kitten by the look on Logan's face, she sniffed and wiped away her cheeks with the palm of her hand, trying to get rid of the dark eye liner make up that washed from her eyes with her tears.

Ororo was upset that she didn't hear Logan come in, this was her office for many years now, but yet he still barged in here like it was any other room in the institute. It frustrated her sometimes, but what annoyed her more was that Logan had seen her cry, seen her weak and broken. No one should see her like that.

Maybe she would get that fight she wanted, but she couldn't yell at him. The kids were asleep. Another release of stress crossed off the list.

She sniffed again and tried to fix up her papers, "I'm fine Logan, just fine" she said, shuffling them in front of her face, trying to avoid looking at him. "What-what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to tell you, I'm going to-"

"Take off?" Ororo guessed, she stood up, making a quick glance in the dark window to see her reflection, making sure she didn't look like she was crying too hard. She held her arms around her body like a self given hug, turning back to Logan, who was just staring at her with those blue eyes. "That's the thing with you, Logan, you take off when it gets too hard, and I'm left here with the kids who ask why they don't have combat class that day, or why they can't talk to you"

"They understand Storm-"

"Don't call me that" she snapped "Don't call me Storm when you want to distance yourself from me. Because let me tell you Logan, it never works, your still here at the school no matter what you wish"

They paused, Ororo staring down on Logan while he stared back, she sighed holding her hand to her forehead and shaking her head in annoyance "Just go Logan" she said finally, "Just take off and never look back, because I can't keep doing this anymore"

Logan growled, turning his back on Ororo "Fine I won't go" he said simply, going to open the door before Ororo stopped him.

"Wait Logan" Ororo said, holding her hand out to him, he turned back to her and she moved her hand back to her forearm, she stopped, unsure of what to say next. If she should tell him to just go, or thanking him for staying. But she had to know if she was in the same pain as her, if not more, making him hurt sometimes made her feel better, she knew it was cruel, but he had his outlets, she needed hers.

"Do you...miss Jean...still?" she asked, knowing that if there was one thing that Logan hurt most about, it was her. Logan hadn't spoken a word about Jean in years, Ororo didn't know if he still loved her, or he got over Jean with some cheap floozy he got to on his frequent trips out of the school.

"The same amount as you" he said finally.

Ororo looked at her feet, so Logan still loved Jean. Jean, her best friend, the one that almost killed them all, the red head that Ororo confined everything in and that was ripped from this world so suddenly, her death had been a big blow for Ororo, she felt like she lost her brother and father (Scott and Professor Xavier) in one week, and she finished mourning her sister.

But when she came back, Ororo felt like she had a family again. Then she was taken from her again, and Ororo had no more family except for the children, but they left her too. Ever summer "But, Jean was like a sister to me, like family" Ororo whispered

She looked back at Logan, who looked very much the same as before, "Jean looked like someone I used to know, I think. She loved Scott, Ororo, and nothing I could ever do or say would stop that."

"But didn't you love her?" Ororo callously said "You loved Jean, even with Scott there"

"I got over Jean years ago" he said coldly, taking a step towards Ororo, making her look up to him "I miss her still, but not in the same way, the same way I miss Scott or when Rogue almost died, or if the rest of the team got hurt"

"What about me?" she said, glaring at Logan "_The rest of the team?_" she quoted him, getting louder with each word "Am I not the same as the team Logan? The same as Jean? Rogue? Scott?" she hissed. "Tell me Logan. Am I less to you than everyone else? Would you care if I got hurt, or died?"

"I would care more, that's the problem 'Ro"

"What did you call me?" she said softly, dropping her arms to her side, taking a step towards Logan, his eyes wide as he realised the nick name he just called her and stepped back.

He paused, "Nothing" he said dismissing her from asking the same question again, "Look, I'm going to stay here, is that enough?"

"Yes" she said, staring as he turned his back on her.

Ororo didn't know if it was her fatigue, or having no physical release of stress, or the fact that Logan just told her that he got over Jean long ago. "Wait" she said, reaching her hand out to him, he turned back to Ororo. No emotion on his face at all. She hated it when he did that.

The next step was either going to make him leave forever, or she would have that one night she wanted for years.

When Logan was looking at her again, she took another step towards him, in his eyes she could see a glimpse of exactly of what was running around her mind. But she needed to know, she wanted that one night so bad, Logan was someone she trusted, and if it didn't work out, he wouldn't be someone that told the whole team that their boss tried to come onto him.

So, Ororo reached out towards him, putting her hands on his chest, feeling the tight muscles under his shirt, she reached up on her toes and kissed him. But it wasn't a sweet kiss, it was full of want, need, lust, there was no friendship in this kiss, it was the kind of kiss the bruised her lips. She waited, but she didn't need to wait long.

Logan kissed her back with the same enthusiasm, she snaked her arms around his neck, to bring him down to her level. But Logan had the same idea, putting one hand on her waist and one in her hair tugging at the long strands, pulling her up to his level. She pushed her body next to his, as close as their clothes would allow them. She was surprised when Logan broke away from her.

She was panting, she didn't even realise that she wasn't breathing, "Uh, what was that?" he asked, pulling away from her, he covered his mouth and just stared at her. Ororo just stood there, thinking she went too far, that she had pushed him away forever "This is so wrong" he muttered to himself, then he removed his hand from his face and ran it through his hair "Your my friend, 'Ro, my boss" he said, moving further away. "We can't do this"

Something in Ororo finally snapped, she was finally getting what she wanted for once, and now it was going to be taken from her "Logan, I have been working my heart out for the last 6 years, I haven't had any time for myself to go out, and I haven't down anything stupid in years. I just want one night. No commitment, after we never speak of it" she hotly said, taking another step towards him, he didn't move back which was a good sign. "Please Logan, just for me, I just want this one thing and I will never ask anything from you again" she almost pleaded.

Logan said nothing, Ororo wondered if he was going to do what she asked, or if he was going to avoid her for the rest of her life. "Ororo, are you sure about this? I mean-"

"Is that a yes?" she asked, taking another step hopefully.

"Yeah sure-" and her lips were on his again, more forceful this time. She backed him against the wall, assaulting his body with her hands, feeling up his arms, around his neck, his chest. He stopped her again, holding onto her wrists.

His lips let go of hers, and moved them against her ear, "We should probably go to your room, I don't want to do this...here" Ororo moaned as he nibbled on her ear, his hot breath making goose bumps on her skin.

"Yes, of course" she gasped, he moved his face away from hers and lead her up the stairs, a hand on her lower back, Ororo missed this physical contact, the feel of someone on her, wanting her. She then thought of an important matter as they passed by his room on the way to hers "Do you have any...?" she left the question hanging.

He understood her, letting go of her back and opening his door. "Yeah, wait here" he said, kissing her before going inside, Ororo waited, hoping that everyone was asleep, she would be in so much turmoil if anyone ever thought something was going on between her and Logan. Well, it wasn't anything wrong, just that it was frowned upon, especially with her the African Goddess fooling around with the gruff Wolverine.

She was reconsidering this whole thing, maybe she should stop while she could, but when Logan's hands moved down her waist to her hips, and he assaulted her neck with kisses, she forgot all that, she forgot to breathe, she forgot her name, but still led him down the hall, past all the other rooms and to the stairs that led up to her room.

Ororo was thankful that her room was sound proofed, not completely, but it was better than no sound proof at all. Tonight she was going to make a lot of noise, let go of all her stress. Ororo opened her door, but Logan didn't follow her, she tugged on his hand but he resisted "Are you sure?" he asked

She kissed him deeply, dipping her tongue into his mouth, he groaned against her and she knew that he was hers to tame now, she leaned up against his body and placed her mouth against his ear "I'm sure" she whispered then she bit down on his ear, making him growl. That brought out the animal in Ororo and she dragged him into the room while attacking his lips again.

Logan kissed back hard, almost bruising Ororo with his need for her, slamming the door shut behind him.

**Author Note!**

**Okay, so my original version of this chapter was a whole lot different in my head. First of all, I never had that whole first half (Rogue, Emma, Ororo sitting in her office) and I originally had Ororo to go find Logan outside on the steps or something right after the mission, and the whole argument never really happened, Logan was a whole lot sweeter but then I thought about it and thought it wasn't really him. **

**Also, I had Logan kiss Ororo, but since I did that whole scene with Ororo just wanting one night, I had her kiss him. And you know that whole first chapter (chapter 0.5) I actually had that combined with this one, but I thought it didn't really fit in with this.**

**Okay, so review and make a little girl in Australia happy.**


	3. A 24 hour thing

**Chapter 2**

**A 24 hour thing**

It had been 3 weeks since Ororo had that 'one stupid night' with Logan, and to say she was feeling better was a lie.

She was feeling great, after that night it was awkward with Logan, as it would be with anyone you just used for sex then returned to be their boss the next day, but after a week they went back to business. Logan's small flirting moments and Ororo telling him what to do was like it always was, shallow and nothing more to it.

They still yelled at each other, but not as much, Logan had apparently let some steam off too with Ororo during that night, but she was glad, she didn't want to feel that whole night was just for her.

After that night Ororo was sleeping better as well, she no longer needed to have endless hours of danger room sessions to get rid of any stress, she didn't need to have moments to cry out all her feelings. Ororo was a new woman and everyone could see it.

"What's got into you?" Emma asked at breakfast "You look-" she started to say but was cut off by Rogue.

"Happy, joyful, cheerful?" Rogue guessed

"Positive, yes" Emma finished, going back to stare at Ororo, Emma's blonde hair falling over her shoulders "What have you been doing Ororo?"

Ororo shook her head as she took a sip of her orange juice "Nothing Emma" suddenly she felt the familiar pokes and prods of someone in her mind, they were reaching into her memories, getting closer and closer to the memory of that night, and that was the one thing she didn't want anyone to find out about, it was her secret. "Emma, stay out of my head or I will forced to make you share a room with Rogue"

"What did Ah do?" Rogue said, dropping her spoon in to the bowl.

"Nothing Rogue, it's just" Ororo sighed "We need more room for the students-"

"Well why don't ya share a room?" Rogue snapped "Ya have two rooms to yaself upstairs and Ah have to have the room unda ya. Let me tell ya, it ain't no picnic with ya roamin' around ya room at 1 in the mornin'. I can hear _everythin'_" Rogue raised her eyebrows at the end of her little speech and Ororo chocked on her juice.

Warren came rushing into the room when he saw Ororo chocking, leaning down to her level with his hand hovering over her back. "Ororo, are you okay?" he asked after she stopped coughing. Warren was one of those perfect guys, he was a fantastic man and very sweet, any girl would be lucky to have him and most of the older girls at the school fell head over heels for the Angel. But Ororo liked a challenge in men, not someone who just lied down for her.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, just..." she looked back at Rogue who was staring at her nonchalantly, like nothing ever happened "Heard something strange"

Warren gave Ororo a questioning look, but she just smiled at him, hoping that Rogue wouldn't say anything. There was a small pause while Emma took a bite of her yogurt and Bobby walked into the room and sat leant on the bench, Emma then spoke about missions that week, if any, like she usually did. "I recently found a small disturbance in Germany, two children, a boy and a girl, are being chased through the city."

Bobby picked up an apple from the middle of the fruit bowl, taking a bite out of it before saying (with his mouth full) "So?"

Emma threw him an irritated look _"So_ when the police get close, the boy and girl are gone and they leave behind a sticky trail of goo"

"Looks like we got two run aways" Bobby smiled, taking another bite of his apple, walking past Rogue and messing up her hair, Rogue batted him away and gave him a playful scowl "I'll suit up"

"Wait" Ororo said, making everyone turn to listen to their team leader "I don't think we need everyone this time. It's just two children...right?" she asked Emma, she nodded and Ororo continued "We'll just tell the police what is happening and they would be more than happy to hand the children over to us. I have a lot of work to complete today and I know you do to Bobby"

He groaned, remembering all the Math tests he had to mark and give back to the students, Ororo looked at the others and saw two of the members who could make it on the mission today enter the room "Logan, Peter" she said, Logan glanced at her but went to the fridge to get a beer, too early for it Ororo thought to herself, but that was Logan (stupid healing factor).

Peter, the tall muscular Geography teacher smiled at her "Yes Miss Munroe?" Peter said, he still insisted on calling her Miss Munroe, it was a step down from 'Professor' but it made her feel like she was way too old for the others. She shook her head, feeling a little sick as she did so but blamed it on almost choking before.

"Peter, I need you, Logan and Emma to go to Germany to find two frightened Mutant children who are being chased, if you have important work to do I understand if you can't-"

"Oh no, I would love too!" Peter grinned, his happiness was so contagious it even brought a smile to Logan's face on occasions. "How long with the trip be?" he asked.

Ororo thought for a moment, the _Black Bird _would get there in no time, but they needed time to find the children in a large city full of people, convince them to go with complete strangers, fill in forms telling the city they were going to take the children to America, and do it while trying to speak in fractured German "About 4 days?" she guessed.

This was not one of the longest missions, but it was the first mission that lasted more than a day that Ororo was not going on and it was very depressing for her, but she had to stay at the institute. Along with all the work she had to do, she felt like she was going down with a cold.

Plus, Emma could fly the jet, not very well, but it would give her some confidence if she could be in charge, and she wouldn't really need to steer unless there was an emergency. That was how Ororo learnt to fly the jet, Jean, being the kind person she was, faked being sick right in the middle of a solo flight, so Ororo had a very small panic attack before she took control of the jet.

Ororo knew she was making the right decision on letting Emma drive, as Emma's face lit up with a smile. On the other hand Logan shook his head, glaring at Ororo "No way is Frost flying the jet" he growled. "Last time she did, she almost crashed"

"Hey!" Emma said, snapping her head towards him "That was a year ago! I'm miles better now, aren't I?"

"She is better Logan" Ororo said giving him a sympathetic smile, Logan despised flying at any time, and letting Emma fly was like letting Kitty cook. You are going to get a meal, but not one you want to eat. "She won't be driving all the way, I've programmed the auto pilot to the point where it can make a long distance flight if there aren't any disturbances"

"Like what disturbances?" he snapped.

"Logan don't worry" Emma laughed, side stepping past him to get to the fridge "I don't see any storms on the front and the children are just causing a small disturbance, nothing major, we just go there, pick them up and come home, okay?" she ticked his chin and Logan hit her away, growling at her.

"How much does she have to drive?" he asked, glaring at Emma

Ororo had to give a small laugh, really, Logan was quite comical when it came to Emma and flying "She only has to fly if she wants too, to land and take off or, like I said before, if there is a disturbance. But I will make sure everyone agrees to let her fly before she takes it off the auto pilot"

After a pause, Logan finally muttered "Fine I'll go" then stalked off to pack.

Emma sneered and took the milk out of the fridge, pouring it into her tea "You shouldn't tease him like that" Ororo finally said, although she was smiling while she said it. "It's not nice"

"Oh boo-bloody-hoo" Emma sparkly said, slamming the fridge shut with her backside, and with that swaying side to side, she left the kitchen. Ororo turned back to the two youngest Xmen and saw Rogue eating her cereal and reading the news paper while Bobby was staring after Emma.

"Bobby, she's gone" Rogue said, not looking up, Bobby shook his head and looked at Ororo, blush rising in his cheeks

He got up out of his seat, picking up his apple as he left but not eating it "Right, got to...um...do stuff" he muttered as he left.

Ororo heard Rogue turn a page of her paper and mutter "Boys" to herself. Ororo couldn't agree more, so she drained the rest of her juice and put the cup in the sink.

There were two reasons why she wanted Logan on this mission. The one she told everyone was that Logan knew some German, not much, but he knew a bit before his mind was wiped 21 years ago and it was like second nature now. But the real reason she wanted him to go, was that she wanted him to protect the children no matter what, sure Peter and Emma were great, but they were too kind to draw blood if the police tried to harm the children.

Ororo felt giddy with the memory of her and Logan together, how he gave her everything she needed that night. Then some more. It was lucky the room was soundproofed (or maybe not, but then Rogue could be reacting to something she thinks she hears) as Ororo was yelling, groaning, screaming and moaning most of the night.

Logan was growling like an animal all night, telling her forcefully what to do, which she would obey. But when she took control again, he just moaned while she took what she needed from him. Oh how Ororo loved that healing factor of his, any marks of her nails were gone in a moment but really there was another, more simple reason for his healing factor being a gift and it was to do with the fact he could stay up all night helping her forget her life.

Nobody in this household would ever know what kind of person Logan was in bed, except her, and Ororo loved to keep that little secret to herself. It was her one night that she wanted, and she got it.

oOOo

24 hours after Logan, Peter and Emma left and the school was very much the same, Ororo didn't act any different to any other day of the week, she still taught her history class with ease, and she took on Emma's English class. But she was distracted.

Just before Logan left, he ran into Ororo down in the labs in the bottom level of the school. They didn't say a thing, but the look in Logan's eyes said it all, he wanted her again, but Ororo couldn't allow it, no matter how much she wanted it herself. She had her one night, and she had to be happy with just that. As she passed Logan his hand brushed against hers, and she swore she could feel his hand tighten around her fingers.

But it was probably just her imagination, there was no way that Logan would want to hold her hand or something so sickly sweet like that. Ororo was brought back to the real world when she felt nauseated, but she just shook her head and got on with her English lesson. "Because Shylock asked for only a pound of flesh, he had to cut exactly a pound, no more, no less, and he was not to drop any blood." she concluded to her class.

All this talk of cutting flesh and blood was making her ill, but she never felt sick about this thing before, in fact she usually was the one who told the children it was okay to look again during a gory movie. Must be just a quirky feeling, she would shake it off, she turned her back to the class and wrote a few dates on the board "Jews were discriminated against all through history, but in '_Merchant of_-".

Ororo felt nausea sweep over her again, she swallowed hoping that the feeling of her throat swallowing would trick her stomach into not empting its contents. "Are you okay Professor Munroe?" a student asked after Ororo stood still and not talking for just that second too long.

Ororo swallowed again, and the feeling went away but was still subtly there "I'm fine, don't worry" she said, picking up her chalk again and writing some terms on the board. "Jews, like Shylock, had to live in a sep-" Ororo stopped herself again.

This time she couldn't hold back the feeling of queasiness and ran from the room, covering her mouth with her hand. She ran into one of the bathrooms and emptied her stomach into the toilet. She held onto the seat with her hands until she was coughing dry air, she must have gotten sick, the flu or something along the lines of that. She couldn't afford to be sick right now, with 3 teachers not here they didn't have a teacher to spare.

Logan was always going on about an old acquaintance he knew who could speak French and wanted to do something with his life, maybe she should give him a call then they wouldn't be so unprepared when a teacher went out sick on a week day. She wiped her mouth with a hand towel and walked back to her class room, making the decision to call this 'Gambit'.

All the students sat back down in their seats while Ororo walked to the front of the room, she had to just wait out a couple of hours, 20 at the most, before she got better. "Students, I'm feeling a little under the weather" they all laughed at her lame joke, she smiled too but she felt sick again so it turned more into a grimace. "So study the chapter on social levels in Elizabethan times and we will review it next time we meet"

The students all ran from the room like they usually did, a few spared glances back at Ororo but she just smiled at them. The second they all left the room, Ororo picked up all her work and walked up the stairs (were there this many before?) up to her room, to rest out this flu. It was probably just a 24 hour thing, she would be better by morning.

On her way up the stairs she passed Warren, "Oh Warren" she said, grabbing his shoulder "Could you just tell my classes that I am out sick today and to just do free study"

"Sure, sure. What have you got?" he asked as she took another step up.

"Oh, I'm sure it's just a 24 hour illness that I caught out in the rain the other day"

Warren shook his head and laughed at what she said "A Mutant gets sick by her own power. What's next?" Ororo smiled at him and walked up the rest of the stairs up to her room. Thankful she had an en suite in there, she was sure she was going to be up all night with this flu.

Ororo felt the familiar tug of her stomach and she ran up the rest of the stairs into the attic, opened her door, flung her papers onto the bed and was sick in the toilet. Ororo was sure she would survive this but it was going to be a long night.

oOOo

Ororo woke up the next morning feeling better, other than an hour throwing up just yesterday afternoon, her infection did not stop her from much else. She had a full night of rest without getting up to be sick, so Ororo assumed that she was over the virus long ago, but she was glad she took the night off since she wanted to do everything possible to get over this flu.

Ororo got slowly out of bed, testing her leg strength and found it was the same as normal, she wasn't weak from her virus at all, which was amazing as she assumed she would be up all night and she hadn't eaten at all yesterday. She did her daily morning routine, shower, dress, breakfast (Ororo only had a few crackers and water, seeing as she didn't want to flare up the nauseating feeling again) then went back to teaching.

This worked, for only a few hours. She was talking to her class about the Middle Ages for history when she felt the nauseating feeling. Ororo paused, begging for the feeling to go away but it came back harder, making her run out of the room right away and empty her stomach into the toilet once more. She heaved again, but having nothing to eat that morning it didn't take that long to throw it all back up, Ororo coughed once more and wiped her face, finding salty tears there.

She was crying a little bit. She shouldn't cry because of this illness, she had it only just yesterday and she was over it in an hour. Maybe it would be the same again, she should just go back to teaching and pretend it never happened, she had too much work to complete and being sick was not an excuse. So she steadily got off the floor and opened the door, walking back to her class.

"So" she said, walking back to the front of the class room, standing in front of the board once more "Because of the social classes, the lower classes were forced-" she stopped again, swallowing back the bile that had risen to her throat.

"Uh, are you okay professor?" a young girl asked, her pale heart shaped face looking at her teacher in concern.

Ororo shook her head and glanced at the time, she felt sick again. She could just dismiss them early, be the good guy in the situation and no one would be the wiser. "I'm fine child. Why don't we finish early today" the children all cheered, scrabbling out of their chairs and into the hell before Ororo could change her mind.

She wasn't going to change her mind, she would get over this 24 hour bug with ease, she would do it working and like it was not happening at all, but she didn't need all the children getting it too, so it was better to send them away and for Ororo to complete some paper work. Ororo felt sick again, and this time having no time to run to the bathroom, she sat down in her chair, picked up her waste paper basket and threw up.

"Ororo? Are ya okay?" Rogue asked, Ororo then heard Rogue's heels clack into the class room and felt her hair being pulled from her face until Ororo finished being sick, Rogue took the can from her, moving it away from her so Ororo would not be tempted to throw up again and handed her a tissue. "How long has this been going on?"

"It's okay Rogue" Ororo said, wiping her mouth with the tissue "It's just a 24 hour bug, nothing I can't handle"

Rogue lifted her hand and held the back of it against Ororo's forehead, measuring her temperature "If it's only a bug, then why are ya down here teachin' instead of restin' in bed?"

"Because I had this yesterday, and it only lasted an hour and I thought I was well again" she batted away Rogue's hand and stood up to straighten her shirt and pat down her hair "I didn't think I would be sick again today if it's only a 24 hour bug"

Ororo looked back at Rogue, but Rogue avoided her gaze. Ororo knew the look Rogue had on her face, it was a thinking look, where she was calculating what she should say next or what she should do. But Rogue said nothing and picked herself up from her kneeling position at Ororo's chair. "Well, ya haven't got a temperature...why don't ya come to mah tomorrow if ya're still throwin' up. It could be somethin' serious"

Ororo let her head nod, Rogue gave her a small smile and picked up the basket to go clean it off. Ororo picked up all her work and started to move up the stairs to her room, maybe she should get some rest, in case it got worse. But she had so much work to do, it would pass in an hour and she would be fully well again, because what kind of 24 bug lasted for 2 days? Let alone 3?

oOOo

Ororo was better on Friday, she had taught all her classes right to the end, she had a new teacher coming in today and Logan and the rest of the team were coming back tomorrow. It was going to be a good day, new teachers usually meant that the team had someone new to focus on rather than her and her 'illness' (which she still suspected to be a 24 hour bug, although it only came once every 24 hours).

But sometimes when everything is looking up, it turns upside down at any random moment. Ororo was working in her office silently, thinking hard, she was once again trying to sort through all the students she had to keep and which she had to send away. It was hard work, but Ororo believed that they could fit in almost 85% of applicants this year, the ones that needed to be there came top of the list. There were more and more each year and there was less and less room for them. But getting in that many new students was an accomplishment even for Ororo.

Satisfied with her work she didn't even mind Rogue banging in with the new teacher, she just sat back in her chair and smiled at the new person who entered her room.

Remy LeBeau was a friend of Logan's from years back, and he needed a job. Ororo was reluctant to give him one, but they needed a new language teacher since Peter proved he could not handle all the work of Geography, advanced Math and Language, he was far too young for so much responsibility yet. So the children now had the chance to learn French instead of Russian.

Ororo suspected Remy to be older than Logan, seeing as Logan couldn't age, but she was surprised to see he looked only a few years older than Rogue. Who at that moment was giving him a disgusted look "It ain't going to work Cajun" she spat at him, and then walked to stand in front of the desk.

"_Venez au lit avec moi, Vous femme sexy!" _he said in a silky voice, Ororo admired his French was fantastic but she had the feeling he was saying something rude, and Rogue seemed to realise it as well.

Rogue gave him a filthy glare, unable to translate what he was saying and turned to Ororo, "Storm, this is Remy LeBeau, Logan's old friend who wanted to teach French" she announced.

Ororo nodded "Thank you Rogue, you are free to go" Rogue gave her a sharp nod and stomped out of the room, Remy watched as she walked out but he turned back immediately when Ororo gave a dry cough. Unlike Bobby he did not look ashamed of looking at a woman's behind. "So Mr LeBeau-" she said standing up, holding out her hand.

"Call me Remy" he said, taking her hand and giving it a quick shake, he then sat down on one of the large chairs in front of her desk, making himself quite at home while Ororo sat down in her own chair "I heard that you needed a new teacher and well..." he gave his body a sweep with his hand "Here I am" he smiled.

Ororo knew quite a lot about Remy LeBeau, for one, he was in the same prison they found Scott and Emma in years ago, but he was able to escape when he was just 8. Remy had the ability to charge items and when he let go, they exploded depending on how much he wanted them too and his code name was 'Gambit'.

What she found out personally from Logan was Remy always carried a pack of cards with him, and he used those to fight with, charging up his 52 little bombs and throwing them at his targets with great talent. Remy gambled a fair bit, but always won, he was trustworthy and a great guy (this coming from Logan must mean he wasn't some lunatic), and his favourite card was the Ace of Spades. "Remy, how did you come to learn French?"

"Well, I grew up in a Cajun community, which speaks French, and it was second nature" he shrugged, taking out a pack of cards and flipping through them, Ororo was amazed with the card tricks but she wouldn't let on. "And if you wanted to know, I will join the Xmen if you asked"

"Why would I ask?"

Remy stopped playing with his cards and looked slyly at Ororo "Because my good friend Logan tells me you ask the same thing to every teacher. And let me tell you, I have never taught before, I have never been on a 'team'" he added in finger quotes "and I have never had a _femme _as a boss. So you don't have to hire me, but I'm your safest bet"

Ororo was shocked with Remy's confession, if she hired him she knew she would be getting another fighter on the team. And Ororo felt like she needed more fighters like Logan, who went out with a bang (literally with Remy).

Ororo paused before she answered "Yes, I will ask you eventually, but I will put you on a trail to make sure you can interact with the other team members" she remembered the way Remy was annoying Rogue, most likely it would get up to the point where Rogue would slip him sleeping pills during dinner "Well" she finished

Remy gave her a small short laugh "Of course...so when can I start?" he asked, assuming he had the job. Of course there was no one else willing to be on the Xmen, be a teacher (and a good one at that) and deal with Mutant children and their teenage angst.

Ororo was about to let him stay in the school when she felt sick again, she had no time to get out of the office and to the bathroom, so with great embarrassment she picked up her trash can and threw up in that. She didn't look at Remy, but she knew he would have been disgusted and might quit, and she really quite liked him. So after emptying her stomach again, she lifted her head to see Remy looking carelessly away. "Done?" he asked her when she stopped heaving and turning back to her with a blank expression, eye brows raised in question.

Ororo wiped her mouth with a tissue from her desk, "Yes, I'm sorry about that. I thought I had a 24 hour bug but I've been throwing up around the same time for 3 days now" she put the can under the table and took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"Maybe you're pregnant?" Remy said under his breath, looking at the Ace of Spades.

Ororo just stared at him and then it all fell on her, it would explain so much if Remy was right. But Remy couldn't be right, no, she couldn't be...pregnant? She would have had to have sex to get pregnant. But she did, just 3 weeks ago.

Ororo shook her head, trying to get rid of that thought. No way on earth could she be pregnant. She should check, but she was pretty sure she wasn't. They were safe weren't they? They used protection! She was just over reacting to a 24 hour bug and a gambling French man "Well Remy, you can start Monday and I think you will be quite comfortable here. I'll have Rogue show you around" Ororo concluded, standing up again.

On the other side of the door Ororo could faintly hear 'Ah, god damn it', before Ororo yelled out "Rogue! I know you're there"

Rogue came in with a sour look on her face, "Fine, Ah'll show him around" Remy grinned and practically jumped after her. As Rogue left the office Ororo could hear Rogue say to the new teacher "And Ah know what ya said, ya pervert"

When Rogue slammed the door behind her, Ororo turned her chair, almost spilling all her papers onto the floor in her rush, she went through her desk until she found her diary planner. She counted back the last time she had her period, her last cycle was almost 7 weeks ago. She was very, very late.

There was no way that she, Ororo Munroe, the African Goddess, Principal of a Mutant school, leader of the Xmen, could be pregnant? It was all so obvious she was, throwing up, her late period, the fact she slept with Logan. Ororo jumped up from her seat, grabbing her wallet and car keys as she did, she would get a test to make sure she wasn't, because she pretty sure she wasn't.

"Warren! I have to go out for a moment" she said to him as she rushed by him, "Just look after the school and call me if anything goes wrong" she told him, she ran into the elevator and zoomed down to the level below, the garage. She hopped into her blue car and drove out the school.

There was no way on earth Remy could be right, Ororo knew her body better than anyone. But then again, Rogue knew everything about the human body and wasn't she giving Ororo weird looks these days, like she knew what was going on. Oh Goddess, what was she going to do, if she was pregnant she couldn't take care of a child. And Logan?

Logan wasn't part of the problem at the moment, it was Ororo. She had duties, responsibilities, she had an image to live up to and if she was pregnant...Ororo didn't know what she wanted. Sure she wanted a child, but this way? And with Logan?

Ororo pulled up in front of the nearest drug store (which was still 10 minutes but it just flew by), parking the car haphazardly in front. She slammed the door shut and walked briskly in, determined to buy the first test she could find.

Instead she encountered endless boxes of different tests. Ororo (never needing a pregnancy test because quite frankly, she rarely had sex) didn't know which one to take, feeling the nausea sweep through her again, then panic after that, she grabbed 7 of the closest boxes and ran to the front counter. "Is that it?" the counter girl asked, popping her gum.

Ororo nodded, she just wanted to take this test home, prove to herself she wasn't pregnant, and then get back to work. "Yes that's it"

"Ya ain't a mutant, are ya?" the girl asked in a horrid accent as she scanned the tests, one after the other. Ororo was upset that someone would ask if she was a Mutant or not, but then again, most stores now a day would not serve a Mutant. It was so crude to admit Mutants weren't allowed to buy products just because they were different.

"No" Ororo answered. She would have hit herself if she was watching from the side, but this was an emergency and she didn't have time to waste by arguing with this dense girl.

The girl put all the tests into a bag and handed it over to Ororo, while Ororo shoved the money into her hand. "Keep the change" she said, running out the door.

She needed to know, now. It was going to kill her soon if she didn't know for sure. Driving back to the school in record speed she entered the gate, letting it shut automatically behind her and she drove up to the school, as she was about to park in the garage Bobby stopped her.

Ororo wound down her window and Bobby came to her side "Ororo, I need to borrow the car for a sec, one of the kids needs sugar. Stat." Ororo groaned, the boy he was talking about was a diabetic and he always needed a sugary treat on him if his blood sugar dropped to low. It was one of her duties to get those sweets for him but with all that was going on she completely forgot.

Ororo got out of the car and handed him the keys, he got in and turned the car around but Ororo wasn't even there when he yelled out his thanks to her, since she was already inside. The unfortunate part about entering the house from the main door was that she had to pass the Rec room, which was usually fine, but Rogue was sitting there reading.

"Hey Ororo, did ya know they're sellin' the place next door-" Rogue yelled out, turning around on her seat to face her "Watch ya got there?" she said, pointing to the bag.

"Huh?" Ororo said, feeling like a fool for having nothing to say.

Rogue got out of her chair and walked towards Ororo, giving a quick point to the bag then to her. "Cause if its tampons Ah need some"

"Um, no" she said, just then a young student walked past and Ororo backed Rogue into the Rec Room again, making her sit on one of the chairs near the desk. Rogue was going to find out, and she most likely knew already Rogue would most likely be on Ororo until she finally admitted it. Ororo took a deep breath in and finally voiced what she was thinking since Remy said that one word "Rogue, I think I might be...pregnant" she finally said.

Rogue cocked her head to the side, "Ah knew about ya sleepin' with Logan, but Ah kinda thought-"

"Wait" Ororo said, stopping Rogue mid sentence "Why do you think it's Logan? And how did you even know about me sleeping with him?"

"Ah please" Rogue said with a careless hand flip, "Yar room is right above mahn. All night all Ah heard was" she gave a quick look around the room before she continued, "Oh Logan, oh Goddess it's so good!" Rogue moaned in a fake voice, she closed her eyes and continued while Ororo started at her opened mouthed "Oh! That's it! Oh harder! Oh Logan! Harder! I'm almost-what the hell are ya lookin' at?" Rogue said, coming out of her fake trance

Ororo tried to stop blushing before she turned around, and when she did she was greeted with the smiling face of Remy who was once again playing with his cards. "Just enjoying the show _Mon Cher_" he flipped through his cards again then spoke "I would like to see you do the show for real though"

"Fat chance. Now get otta here" Rogue yelled at him.

Remy shrugged and walked outside. Ororo couldn't be more mortified, she thought it was sound proofed, it was but it apparently wasn't enough. "Oh Rogue, I can't believe it"

"Trust me, Ah'm just glad ya finally got some" She stood up, making Ororo come up with her "It's probably nothin', Ah mean, ya didn't do anythin' stupid did ya?"

Ororo's eyes opened wide, Emma knowing everything that was happening in the house was one thing, but Rogue was a whole new level "No!" Ororo whispered but yelled at the same time.

"Ah huh" Rogue nodded, going back to the sofa and taking her original place on the seat "If ya got any questions just ask mah."

Ororo, with a hot flush feeling on her cheeks, backed out of the room and ran up the stairs, thankfully not meeting anyone on her way up. She ran into her room and into the privet bathroom, taking the bag with her and emptied it onto the side table next to the sink. She was going to get to the bottom of this, she thought as she picked up the first test.

oOOo

No one ever told Ororo the hardest part about a pregnancy test was the waiting. Ororo put the test down on the bed and started to pace in front of it. She had to wait a full three minutes for it to finally give Ororo a little pink plus or minus sign.

Three minutes, that never felt so long. Ororo started to panic, what was she going to do if it was positive, or negative. Ororo thought about it, if it was negative she didn't know how she was going to feel, would she be happy? Relieved? Ororo didn't know. Maybe this child wouldn't be so bad.

But then again, she had no time for herself at the moment, let alone a child. And Logan. Oh Goddess Logan. What would she do about him? Would she tell him that she had a scare? No, she wouldn't, it would just put him off her for life, make him move away from her.

It was taking too long, why did this sort of thing take so long? Was it to make women like her suffer for that little bit longer while they waited? Or was it to give false hope to a woman for that while longer? Either way, they should change it, make her wait only one minute, but even that was too long.

Once minute down. Ororo sat on the bed next to the test and gazed at it, but she couldn't bear to look at it, she got back up and started to pace again, biting her thumb nail, a habit she hadn't used in years, and only under the tensest, most worried moments of her life. She went to her small desk, maybe she could do a bit of work while she waited.

But when she sat down, all she managed to do was look back at the test every few seconds and jiggle her pen up and down in anticipation. Two minutes down. It was almost time, oh, she didn't want to look. There were so many negatives if she was pregnant, but there were some great positives.

Ororo didn't know how she felt, would she be sad if she wasn't going to have a baby? But she didn't have time, and what child would want her as a mother, she was cold and she knew it. It would be better off without her.

What would she do about the Xmen if she was pregnant, she couldn't exactly go on missions any more, and what would the parents say about her? No parent would send their child to a school that had an accidentally knocked up principal. She was irresponsible, reckless, foolish. But it was only one night. She only wanted one night and now she might have that one commitment free night turning into the biggest responsibility of her life.

Three minutes. Finally. She didn't want to look, but she had too, why couldn't it just yell it at her? Ororo got out of her chair and walked quickly to the side of her bed and picked up the test. Eyes clamped shut.

Maybe she wasn't pregnant, maybe it was all a coincidence, maybe she could go back to the way she was before this all started. But she had to know first. She had to look to see if that little minus sign was there so she could move on with her life.

Ororo opened one eye, trying to get a good look at the test, but her eyes were blurry from built up tears from her frustration. She had to open both and see her fate on a stick. Ororo opened both eyes and looked at the result of the test. It wasn't a minus sign.

It was a little pink plus sign. Positive.

She was pregnant.

**Okay, so this chapter was on the more T side of the rating, yeah, this chapter went to plan. I would like to thank one of my fans SuniGyrl, who without her this chapter would probably take longer to post, thank you for your positive feedback and for telling your friends.**

**NOTE! For every 10 reviews I post a day ahead of schedule and for every 5 subscribers another day ahead of schedule! No need to log in to review, anyone can do it! Or make an account and write and review with a name. Trust me, getting my account was the best thing I ever did! **

**And please, tell your friends, it will make me happy! And an unhappy Raven does not end well...for anyone...especially my friend Michelle...sorry Shorty.**

**Okay, so to explain some things. Remy actually grew up in a French/Cajun group, however it is not so innocent. Stealing and killing, poor Remy, and I know that most people give him an accent, but with sticking to Movieverse he didn't have one. And the joke about Kitty, in 'Xmen Evolution' they have this whole joke going on about how Kitty can't cook for nuts, so I added that joke in.**

**Shylock is a character from "The merchant of Venice" by Shakespeare and I studied it last year**

**If you are wondering about the morning sickness thing, I did do my research. Morning sickness can affect you anytime of the day, but not for that long, and you can have morning sickness after 3 weeks of conception. But most women get it at 6 weeks, but I decided to make Ororo special! Yey her! More morning sickness!**

**So review and make a little girl in Australia happy.**


	4. It's Wrong, Right?

**Chapter 3**

**It's wrong, right?**

No. This was not real. She couldn't be pregnant! No, the test was a faulty one, it defiantly was. There was no other explanation for false positive. Thankfully Ororo bought half a dozen other tests, the next one will defiantly tell her she was not pregnant and she could rest easy again.

Because really, Ororo Munroe, pregnant? Who could think of something so strange? If she was pregnant who knows what that could lead to, she had to teach classes, lead the Xmen, speak at senates and still have time to deal with people and their own problems and never her own problems.

And if she were to be pregnant, then, well she wouldn't have any more time for that. She would have to sit back while the others took care of the business that on some level Ororo really did like to do. She really did like teaching her classes, she did like fighting off SHEILD and other Mutant haters, she liked speaking for all Mutants in front of the president.

Ororo walked into her bathroom once more and threw the 'defected' test into the trash and picked up a fresh one. But what if this one was faulty too? She was better off taking the other 5 at the same time. Thank goddess she had a drinking glass in the bathroom, she needed a lot of water.

oOOo

Just over 6 minutes later Ororo was pacing the room again in front of the 6 tests lined up on her bed, this time because every other test said the same thing. Positive. Positive. Positive. Positive. Oh and positive. Ororo was pregnant with a child she never wanted or thought she could ever have, but there was not a time for her to be...she couldn't even say it.

But she had to, seeing soon that she would have to tell people she was...pregnant.

After all those worries and concerns about the older girls having accidental pregnancies and there she was, the best example for this situation, single and with so much responsibility. But she was too busy, she could never raise a child, it was different to raising a school of Mutant children. Babies needed more time, more care than 8 year olds, which were the youngest they got at the school. There was no time at all. Mutants were being rebelled against, and harder than ever and to announce to the world that she, a Mutant, was pregnant was going to cause some problems.

Ororo needed to be the strong confident leader of the Xmen, and now she couldn't. She couldn't get rid of the child, no, Ororo was against abortion of any kind this was her child, granted that it was Logan's too. Oh Goddess, what was she going to do about Logan?

Logan, the loan Wolverine, was going to be a father? To her child? What was she going to do? How was she going to tell him? Should she tell him at all, that was the main question. Logan lived alone for so many years and for Ororo to tell him that she was pregnant after only a stupid night together was just going to break him. He was going to take off, she knew it. He was going to abandon her and her unborn child.

But maybe, Ororo thought, this was the only way _she_ could have a child. She never thought about a child or even marriage for her future before, but she knew eventually that she would like to get married but she would have needed time to find someone first and she never had time to get out, that's partly the reason she was pregnant at the moment, no time for herself plus one night with Logan to relieve her stress equals an unplanned pregnancy.

Ororo paused again and made a mad dash to the toilet to throw up. Defiantly pregnant. Well, Ororo was a strong woman, she could take care of a baby by herself, she could do it. She thought about that night with Logan, how great it was and now she was going to have the evidence growing in her womb. They were defiantly safe, how on earth could it happen? But, there was always a small chance that protection didn't always work, and wasn't she always the lucky one to get that 1 in 1000 chance?

What was the chance of a lot of things that happened in Ororo's past? What was the chance that a plane would hit the building that her family was staying in for just that short month and kill them both while she was left under rubble for 3 days? What was the chance that she would have a Mutant power, one of the first Mutants? What was the chance that she would be used as an African goddess? What was the chance that Charles would ever find her? What was the chance that Jean had the Phoenix deep inside her and would cause the deaths of the ones Ororo loved?

Ororo's life was so full of chance, most of it was good, but some of it wasn't. Ororo heaved again and flushed the toilet and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her mocha skin was the same as it was when she was twenty, but there were big bags under her eyes from all the sleepless nights she had when she was doing her duties as the principal of this school. Her eyes were blue but they turned pure white when she used her powers, a defect that she never really worked out, but she loved it all the same.

Her long white trademark hair reached just past her shoulders was pulled back into a lose pony tail, her hair was the only indication that time had passed as most people said she never looked a day past 24 although she was meant to be almost 30 now. She touched her reflection with her hand, running it down her face. She was beautiful, she knew that, but it was not a soft beauty. It was the kind of cold, cruel beauty, no one wanted to mess with her. Ever.

It was ice cold beauty, what with her frosty hair and eyes, but Logan had always said that she was sweet woman, and her exquisite warm colored skin was an indication of that and it helped when she laughed. It always bought a smile to Ororo face whenever she thought of those random acts of kindness from Logan, since they were rare and never spoken of after.

Ororo stepped back into the main room and caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror, she sighed, running a hand over her still flat stomach. How much longer would it stay like that? Her slim figure was going to be a thing of the past soon enough. Gazing at her stomach and rubbing it she pondered what this child would mean for her.

Someone that was hers, forever. She no longer needed to look on with jealously when parents came to collect their children at the end of the year, she no longer had to feel that horrid pain when people spoke so highly of their children around her while she had to smile and nod along, she would have her own child to raise.

To teach from right and wrong, how to walk, talk, and for Ororo to love and to be loved back by. Ororo smiled at her reflection, maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But won't people wonder about the father eventually?

Should she tell them, the Xmen? She would soon, first of all she actually had to tell the father. But she would keep it her secret for just a while longer. She quite liked this secret, knowing it was all hers and no one else's.

Ororo was bought out of her little fantasy by the jet landing in the basketball court, she hardly noticed but she was rubbing her stomach for close to half an hour but it felt like no time at all to her, she did have plenty time to think about Logan, the other half of the reason she was in this predicament. She would wait until the time was right before she told Logan, and she just prayed to the Bright Lady that Rogue wouldn't let anything slip before then, Rogue couldn't say a word, she couldn't even think about it around Emma what with her constant curiosity to find out everything.

Ororo gathered all the tests and put them in the trash can next to her desk. Ororo then thought of something, with Logan's sense of smell he would suspect something, with a moment of inspiration Ororo dashed into her bathroom and sprayed perfume on her pulse points, disguising her scent from Logan's trained nose.

Once she was satisfied that Logan wouldn't figure it out she made her way downstairs, taking her time, she didn't need to rush, she never had a need before. But she did want to rush, she wanted to run down all the stairs and see Logan's face again (maybe he thought about her while he was away?), but at the same time she wanted to run back up the stairs to her room and just think longer about her baby.

Her baby. It had a nice ring to it.

So she kept on the path she was already on, meeting Emma and Logan in the main hallway of the school, just outside of her office, as Ororo moved closer to the pair she noticed Logan stiff response, his nose sniffing the air. Ororo prayed that he did not smell her, the real her, but he dismissed whatever he smelt as not being important at the moment, Ororo wanted to sigh in relief but then Logan would really investigate this new smell. "Emma, Logan, glad to see you have returned early" Ororo said.

"You're lucky to see us back" Logan growled "Frost almost crashed on the landing"

"I did not!" she screeched.

"Okay" he said, rounding on her "So hitting the side of the docking bay was planned?"

Her gaze never faltering, Emma turned to Logan, hands on hips "That might have been my fault-"

"Might?" Logan questioned.

"Emma! Logan! Just stop it!" Ororo commanded, she did not need this at the moment, two new students who most likely spoke little English was going to be difficult enough without Emma and Logan's constant bickering, Ororo wondered why she ever sent those two together. Was it because she wanted to get rid of Logan for awhile and the only way she could do that was let Emma fly? Or was it because she hoped that maybe they would learn to get along on this trip? Because she was sorely mistaken and they were worse now. "So how did the mission go?" she asked.

Emma glared at Logan before she answered "_Perfectly. _I have good news as well, they both speak English, but the girl is fluent in almost every language including German, Japanese, Indian, French and Italian"

"What an intellectual child" Ororo mused "Where are they?"

Logan glanced over at the elevator "Pete is just bringing them up now"

As if announced, the elevator door swung open, revelling Peter, a teenage boy and a young girl. The boy had sandy blonde hair while the girl had bright bubble gum pink bob, but while he looked temperamental but still happy to be out of Germany, the girl looked solemn and looked around the room quickly, like she was searching for something before settling on staring at Ororo.

The boy looked relatively normal, jeans, shirt, nothing out of the ordinary, his sister, on the other hand, had large colorful butterfly wings on her back, still on the small side since she was still growing, but wings none the less.

"Professor Munroe, this is Jared and Megan Gwynn" Peter said, making the children move out of the elevator. Jared gave her a sarcastic smile and nodded as a greeting but Megan looked very much the same. But her facial appearance changed when she saw Rogue in her gloves enter the area, knowing that she wouldn't be the only strange mutant at the school.

"Logan!" Rogue cried out when she saw Logan, running to his side. Giving him a quick hug which he returned, behind Rogue, Remy sauntered in, and seeing his old friend he walked to his side and shook his hand.

"Logan! Can't really say I'm glad to see you, but..." he shrugged and gave him a smirk, which Logan returned. Ororo found it fascinating that Remy could say something like that, and Logan wouldn't say a word, but Ororo betted the second Remy said anything inappropriate to Rogue in front of Logan, he would defiantly need to make a run from those dangerous claws.

Emma gave a flirtatious smirk to the Cajun and he returned it while Rogue rolled her eyes. Looked like Remy was a bit of a ladies' man, Ororo concluded, maybe it wasn't the best idea to hire him if he was going to cause problems. And she was slightly worried about how Remy would treat the senior girls in the school, but it was too late now, and Remy probably knew that if he tried to touch one of the senior girls Logan would kill him, and that wasn't just a figure of speech.

Next to Ororo, she could see Megan trying to move closer to Rogue but then taking a step back, she was just fascinated with Rogue, just looking her up and down, she tugged on Ororo arms and asked in a hushed tone. "Why is she wearing gloves?"

Ororo felt uncomfortable answering the question, obviously Megan would find out eventually and would be terrified of Rogue, but to just say it to her without explaining it like it was a bad mutation would make it seem like any other power at the school and something that all Mutants had to deal with, something normal. "She has to wear gloves because her mutation makes it so she can't touch other people" Ororo said back to her in the same tone.

"But why didn't she take the Cure?" Ororo felt a pang to her heart, this young girl was talking about the Cure like it was, well, a cure. Obviously there were some powers some people wanted to get rid of, but to advertise the Cure like it was a godsend was wrong, this girl shouldn't be thinking about the Cure like that, she should be embracing her wings.

"She did take the Cure, but it was back when it wasn't permanent and it failed after a year" Ororo told her, Megan made a small O shape with her mouth then walked off.

Ororo put her hand on Jared's back and guided him towards her office. "I'm just going to talk to the children" she said, telling Peter mostly. He nodded and started to talk to Remy about what he was going to teach. Logan was happy enough talking to his old friend. Talking about old times, gambling, drinking, scoring women. Ororo couldn't believe this was going to be the father of her unborn child.

Megan walked in front of Ororo, she glanced at her brother quickly and gave a disapproved glare at his solemn face, she then reached out to hold on to Ororo's hand. Ororo was used to the younger children grabbing her hands sometimes, or even hugging her. That made it all the harder to see them leave during the holidays.

Ororo opened the door of her office and led the children in and setting them down in the chairs in front her. She moved to sit behind the desk and gave them a sweet smile. "I'm Professor Munroe and I'm the principal here and I would like to welcome you to our school which has Mutant students just like yourselves. We heard about you two with our telepath Emma, you met her already, and we came over to check up on you. We weren't going to take you if you were just playing around but apparently you weren't."

"We weren't playing" Jared said in a calm voice "We were abandoned a few weeks back then the cops started chasing us" giving a pointed glance to his sister.

"We were just trying to protect ourselves" Megan said sweetly "It was their fault for chasing us" Ororo struck this as odd and didn't question it, the girl had been through a lot for a child her age.

Ororo took out her files to note down some of the finer details about the children, they knew they were coming to school and she was sure that Emma would have already told them everything and Ororo did have a lot of work to do, this included more paper work for the new students and then making another trip to the bathroom to throw up (she had already scheduled), so just needed to know a few details about their age and education. "So Jared, how old are you?"

"Thirteen, and Megan's seven" he said nodding towards her.

"Great" Ororo said, writing it down. Jared had to share a pretty full room, but Megan only had to share a room with two other girls. Jared looked like the kind of boy who could easily catch up, but Ororo thought how Megan already knew a few languages, what else could she know? "What grades were you in at school?"

"I was just starting 7th before I left in a public school, and Megan was in 9th in a privet school for the gifted" he noticed Ororo look, and he quickly said "She skipped a couple of grades"

Ororo nodded, but Megan said soberly "He meant 10th" Ororo was taken aback, 9th grade was high for a seven year old, but 10th? Megan was one of those genius, someone who could have discovered the cure for cancer, or eliminate the use of gasoline. But because of the wings on her back she could never leave the institute without wearing a heavy jacket and in a few years not even that, she would end up like Warren, forced to wear straps over his wings which caused him great amounts of pain.

"Okay great!" Ororo said, writing down these new facts "You can start classes Monday, but I'll give you a time table about classes before then"

"Whatever" Megan muttered, her wings fluttering a little. Ororo noticed that the children were rather upset, Jared was moody and Megan was angry, most likely because they were abandoned. But most parents usually reconnected with their children after they were found again at the school, maybe Mr and Mrs Gwynn would be glad that their children were found.

"What about your parents, do they know-"

"Where we are?" Jared finished for Ororo, "Okay, let me tell you. We went to Germany for vacation, Megan's wings got too big to hide under her shirt then some Mutant hater left a tape of me using my powers on our doorstep and our parents left us there and came back to New Jersey. When we ran out of money the hotel chucked us out onto the streets"

"That's terrible!" Ororo gasped, it was not uncommon for most of the Mutants they rescued to be living on the streets, but living on the streets in a country where only one of them could speak the language was dangerous.

"It's not so bad" Megan muttered to herself

Jared glared at her "What are you talking about? They left us in a foreign country and came back home without us"

"Whatever" Megan muttered again, folding her arms and looking away from Jared and Ororo, Jared sighed and looked away from her as well. Ororo could tell they weren't close siblings and they just tolerated each other. But Ororo admired that Jared would stick with her for so long, but Megan might have been good for getting into empty houses through an open window or sweet talking someone with that innocent looking face.

Ororo broke the silence by getting up and came to kneel by Jared's seat and looked him in the eye "Well, I'm sorry to hear about your parents Jared, but I'm sure they still love you"

"I was an accident. They never wanted me" he said shortly "They were finally glad to get rid of me, they just needed an excuse to leave me"

Ororo sighed, and took his hand, Ororo couldn't believe that someone would abandon a child, and in a different country. She felt a tug on her stomach, but not because of nausea this time. This time it because her own baby was tugging at her motherly instincts. She wanted to hug these children and let them cry it out, tell them it was fine.

Ororo stood up, and sensing this was the end of their time with the principal , the two siblings stood up as well. Jared walked out of the office while Megan stood next to Ororo. Rogue came into the office and watched as Jared stormed off, "Jared! Come back!" Megan commanded, but Jared kept walking.

"Leave him Megan, he just needs time to cool off" Ororo said, patting Megan on the back in an act of kindness, however Megan left her side and walked to stand in front of Rogue

"Hi there" Rogue said, bending down to Megan's level, "I'm Doctor Darkholm, what's your name?" she introduced. When Rogue found out she was adopted she went through her files and found out her original name was Darkholm, and she was so uncomfortable with her family now, she decided to change it back. They never did find her first adoptive mother, the one that gave her the name Marie Darkholm, all her files had been deleted and there was no trace of her, but Rogue still had hopes for the woman who raised her for 6 years.

"Megan" the young girl said

"Well, aren't ya a little cutie, Ah hope ya have lots of fun here!" Rogue smiled, standing up to face Ororo again. "Ororo, about Remy, he is-" She was about to finish her sentence when Megan hugged her. Rogue looked surprised and didn't know what to do and just looked at Ororo in confusion. Everyone in the school knew about Rogue's power, they knew she could control it, but they did stay away from her most of the time.

Rogue, looking down at the small girl, and hugged her back, awkwardly but she still did it, after a moment when she knew that Megan was not going to leave her alone, Rogue finally spoke again "Ororo, which room is Megan going to stay in? Ah'll show her too it"

"Yes. Um, take her to Laurie Collins and Sofia Mantega's room. And if you do see Jared, tell him to come here and I will show him to his room" Ororo smiled, Megan let go of Rogue, but grabbed onto Rogue's gloved hand while she lead her up to her new room.

Ororo sat back down at her desk, glad that Megan could feel more at home here, but Ororo was upset about Jared. He obviously hated his parents now and there was no telling how deep this feeling would go. Some of the children here who were abandoned or ran away because it got too tough did hate their parents for making them feel like a Mutant, but mostly it was only skin deep. They wouldn't do anything to harm them, but they did hold a grudge against their family.

But one of those extreme cases were the children took revenge was John. They found him in Australia, a few weeks after his mother abandoned him in Sydney, he went back to his home only to be told not to come back. Furious he went off and started to burn down buildings in hope to get rid of his pain, John killed a few people, if not more if the Xmen didn't come to help him. John was an extreme case, and Ororo wouldn't like to see that repeated in Jared.

Ororo sighed and got out some paper work, first she had to write a letter to Mr and Mrs Gwynn to explain where their children were, then she had to each find a place to put them in for classes. Jared would be easy to place but Megan was going to be harder, there was never genius Mutants who came to the school and Ororo was unsure of what to do with her, should she place her with her age peers, or with intellectual peers?

Just as Ororo finished writing the letter Emma came banging into the room and placed both of her hands on Ororo's desk, "Get rid of him, now" she threatened, glaring at her.

"Who?" Ororo asked as Remy entered the room in the same sort of fashion, but instead of coming directly to Ororo he stood in the back of the room and glared at Emma.

"That coward!" she screeched.

"I resent that!" he yelled back, Ororo got out of her desk quickly and shut the door. Obviously these two weren't getting along and she knew for a fact if they didn't get on at this school it was like a death sentence, as one half of the student body would agree with someone and the other half would go against them. This rarely happened at the school since most of the students liked to keep their business to themselves, but there had to big blow up sometime and that usually caused conflicts for a week.

Last time this incident happened it was over the breakup of Rogue and Bobby, after so many years it finally ended, and not on a good note. Half the school argued that Rogue had gotten the Cure for him and Bobby had cheated on her with Kitty, but of course Kitty was dating Peter at the time of this problem so the other half of the school argued that Rogue was just jealous over a make believe relationship.

So to find out that the new hot (as she heard one of the senior girls whisper to her friends when Remy passed her) French teacher was in an argument with the friendly but sometimes bitchy (again, what a student referred to the teacher as) telepath was not going to end well.

"What is this over?" Ororo asked, standing in the middle of the show down.

"He left us all" Emma said simply, as though Ororo knew the whole conversation already.

"What are you talking about?" Ororo asked

"He left us all at Stryker's" Emma snarled "He left us all to die after he escaped"

"Hey! You got out in the end! Plus I was coming back to help when the whole building went down! I'm as surprised to see you as you are to me!" he yelled, raising his hands in the air above his head.

"That's no excuse-" Emma started again, taking a step forward

"Enough!" Ororo commanded holding up her hands to each party, Emma was seething and would most likely kill Remy in his sleep. Emma was in her cell for many years and she never fully got over it, she returned with Xavier to his school but she felt she never fit in, Ororo met her only briefly as a young teen before Emma left. Years later they heard that she was a professor at another Mutant school, a more private one.

Ororo was unaware that Remy was going to help them, maybe he was going to but as he just said, he was but Remy found out they were already safe. Ororo glared at the both of them, obviously Remy needed help to break out a group of highly guarded Mutants and Emma was extremely upset that she had to be left longer in that place than necessary.

"Emma" she said looking to her, Emma wasn't looking at her and was still staring at Remy with hate and disgust "I know that you were upset about-"

"Upset?" she started to say in a voice a few octaves higher than her own, but Ororo held up another hand to stop her

"But Remy was young when he was caught and obviously scared" Remy made a scathing noise but Ororo continued uninterrupted "I know that's no excuse but we need Remy on the team, so please can you just work it out peacefully. Even if that means that you two have to stay on opposite sides of the school, so be it, but I never want to find you too yelling about your past!"

Emma glared at Ororo and left the office in a huff, banging the door open and almost crashing into Rogue who backed away from her. "What's with her?" Rogue said pointing back.

"Nothing" Remy and Ororo said at the same time

"Rogue" Ororo said, looking at the woman with pleading eyes "could you please find Logan and ask him to keep an eye on Remy please?"

"Keep an eye on me?" Remy spat "The Frost bitch is the one you have to keep an eye on!"

"Enough Remy!" Ororo yelled this time, sick of this squabbling, she had her own bigger problems and Emma and Remy were acting like children "Just go with Rogue to find Logan!"

Remy stormed out of the office and Rogue looked back at Ororo, Ororo gave her a pleading look, begging with her eyes that Rogue would look after him. Rogue nodded but rolled her eyes and followed Remy out the door with him muttering 'I've only been in this school for two hours and yet they call me a trouble maker'.

Ororo shut the door behind her and sat back behind her desk to start her work again. This day was so full of new Mutants, and that wouldn't be so bad, but when one of those Mutants knows about another's past, Ororo knew it was going to get messy. Emma hated being told to move away and not engage in a fight so Ororo knew she was going to have a big fight with her later, but at the moment she didn't care.

So Ororo did the only thing that took her mind partly off the world around her, and started to work. It was a method she found out about after Jean, Scott and the professor died, and it worked well for her after all these years. Granted she never had enough time for herself and that ended up with her doing reckless things (for example that 'stupid night' with Logan) but it did stop her thinking for awhile. But paper work can only get you so far and after 20 minutes she stopped.

Feeling like she should eat something (seeing as she had to eat for two now) Ororo left her pile of paper work and went to the kitchen to get a snack, where she found Logan sitting at the bench, alone. Ororo remembered the last time they were alone, and how she ended up getting herself pregnant. She so badly wanted to tell him about this baby, but it wasn't the right time, so instead she took a biscuit and sat next to him. "Hey Ororo" he greeted her.

"Logan" she replied.

Ororo looked around the kitchen for Remy, thinking that Logan and Remy would have a lot more catching up to do "Where's Remy" she finally asked.

Logan shook his head and gave a small smile "Emma came back in, yelling at him so I told him to check out the bikes in the garage with Rogue" Logan mistook Ororo's look for something else instead of fear for poor Remy being left alone with Rogue in her territory, the garage, where there were many sharp and heavy objects "He wouldn't steal a bike, Rogue will keep him in check".

"I bet" Ororo muttered to her biscuit.

"Pardon?" Logan asked.

"How did the mission go? For you I mean" Ororo covered.

Logan paused, "Fine, the cops over there were just freaked out about run aways, Mutants haven't really affected them that bad over there. So they don't really have a SHEILD team...yet" he finished darkly.

They sat in silence, Logan taking sips from his beer every now and again while Ororo mulled over how on earth she was ever going to tell this man he was going to be a father to a child he never wanted, he hated when something didn't go according to plan, but he did like it when it didn't go to plan and he got to beat someone up, but Ororo thought he wouldn't get anyone to beat in this situation.

"It's so hard to think" Logan started, Ororo looked at him from the corner of her eyes "That someone would abandon a kid like that, just because they're a Mutant"

"It is" Ororo said "But that's why we have this school Logan, to look after those who need our help"

"They hurt the boy" he said quickly "They broke him so badly with that stupid leaving act"

"I know they did Logan, but they same thing has happened to a lot of the students here. We just have to give him some time to think, to let him realise that he is better off here, using and learning his powers, then back home where he has to hide them" Ororo said, holding onto Logan's shoulder. She was happy that he didn't shake her off, but was surprised that he placed his own hand over the top of it.

He moved his thumb over his hand, making small circular movements, but still he did not look at her, they stayed in that position for a little longer than necessary "I know" he said finally. "Just knowing though, that their parents are only an hour or two from us...and they didn't even say good bye before they left them alone in Germany" he sighed, letting go of Ororo's hand, she took her hand from his shoulder.

"It will be okay Logan, think of how happy they are going to be here" Ororo said

Logan shook his head and exhaled deeply "I guess your right" he finally said

Ororo knew it was risky, what she was going to ask next, and prepared herself for a blow to her heart or the feeling of it flying. "Logan, if you ever had a child would you-"

"I seriously doubt I would have one" he interrupted, Ororo tried to not let the look of defeat cross her face, her heart almost falling out of her chest "Ororo I don't know how old I am exactly, but if I ever had a kid it would have everything going against it, including me, I mean, I'm not exactly the nicest person, and could you ever see me holding a baby?" he asked her, but continued not looking at her, because if he did, he would have seen Ororo eyes fill with tears.

Ororo refused to let him see her cry, this was a huge blow, Ororo assumed that Logan would like to have a child but as he just said he wouldn't want one. Maybe one day he would, but not now, and not with her. Ororo went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water and another biscuit "Don't give up hope Logan" Ororo said back in the same grave tone, and left to go lie down in her room, she needed to rest her head to think about what her life had become in the space of an two hours.

Had it really been an two hours since she found out she was pregnant? It seemed to pass by so quickly yet her life had changed dramatically it just that short while. But at the same time, it had had been a few seconds were most of her dreams about Logan looking after his child came crashing down on her. But still, a mother, she was going to be a mother. Finally.

Ororo never thought it was possible for a woman like her, someone who never had a proper relationship except when she was young and carefree still, where she still thought she would get married, and years later she had skipped the marriage bit and really the whole boyfriend bit, but she was getting one of the most important steps. A baby.

She thought about Logan, but she didn't want to make herself miserable at this moment, she should be happy about this news of her baby. If Logan didn't want a child that was his problem, this was going to be _her _baby, not his. But it did cause tears to come to her eyes, but she blamed the hormones. She was pregnant with his child and he just admitted that he never wanted one, that changed everything.

**Okay, so Megan and Jared are a little random, but trust me, one of them is really, really important later. But which one? Originally I had Megan as the morbid mean one and Jared as this cute happy kid, but then I thought it didn't fit well with the story so I changed it over, and I think it worked out better.**

**Also I had Megan with small black wings, like Warren's but with the personality change I made it butterfly because let's face it, it's cuter, Megan's original name was Verity but then I read this over and I recognised she was already a character in X men, known as Pixie. I did change the character a little bit to make her fit in with the story better, but she is still very much the same happy go lucky kid with a dark past. And I never had the whole Rogue and Megan interaction, but I saw it to be fitting for later on.**

**You may have noticed that Emma is a bit of a bitch. Well, she is, Emma is not a nice person and although I try to make her seem nice in some areas mostly she is just an evil English bitch, I put up that whole Logan and Emma scene cause it just makes me smile how scared of heights Logan is and then Emma goes and crashes. **

**Happy face! (Sorry, my friend got me in the habit of describing my feelings with faces. I blame you Emzo!) The names I chose (Megan and Jared) have no real reason to it, they just went well together. Laurie Collins and Sofia Mantega are part of the new X men in comics. **

**I never had that whole Remy and Emma bit, but after reading Chellerbelle's "Squeaky and Stripes" (which is a really cute fanfic on Remy and Rogue!) I thought over their whole interaction and had to go back to the drawing board, which added an extra 200 words to a 16 000 word document. Yes! That's how long my plan is!**

**To my reviwers, I write for you and to my suscribers I write a little faster for you. Trust me, every time I update it makes me happy that you review and I think "should I do my homework...or write the next chapter?" I decided to go with option B. But so far thanks for the review. Sara, there are going to be other pairings, but not a full focus on them, mostly on the couple we all love.**

**So review and make a little girl in Australia happy.**


	5. The Senses

**Chapter 4**

**The Senses **

Ororo hated Logan. It was a simple fact but Ororo wished it wasn't true. But it was, Logan had practically admitted to not wanting a child and defiantly not his own child which Ororo was carrying. Now all Ororo could think about was how she was ever going to admit to Logan he was going to be a father, then see him walk away.

She slammed her door shut and put her food she had collected down on her desk, she didn't want to eat now even if it was for her baby, she knew she was just going to throw it all back up again. Ororo paused, next to her desk was her waste paper basket, and in that basket was the 6 tests she had taken just before, mocking her with those positive signs.

Her rage taking over her body she knocked the papers on her desk onto the floor, yelling out as she did, the papers fell everywhere not leaving a space free on her perfectly clean floor, which she hated to admit, might have been one of the places where she could have conceived her child. She curled her arms around her body and made the illusion that someone was holding her in their arms, she missed that feeling.

Ororo's eyes filled up with tears, and this time, she let them fall. They cascaded down her cheeks and made small salty wet patches on her shirt and arms, ruining her make up as she did, but she didn't care. How was she going to tell Logan now? Ororo guessed that he would suspect something was going on sooner or later, a pregnancy wasn't exactly an easy thing to hide, and with Logan's heightened sense of smell it was only a matter of hours before he would start to ask questions.

Logan is a bright man, he would figure out that she was pregnant with his child, because who else's would it be? And now seeing the real side of Logan, he would take off and never look back and leave her with his child.

Maybe she should get rid of it. Get an abortion. She never wanted this baby and Logan certainly didn't want it, and everyone would be better off if she just got rid of it. That way she would never have to tell Logan. Ororo sniffed again, she should get an abortion, it was the simple solution to everyone's problems.

But she couldn't.

This was a _baby _she was thinking of killing, it was _her baby_. It brought her to tears when they lost a child to SHEILD, so to kill a baby intentionally would surely kill her. Although she never really wanted a child, she knew she wanted this one, and she would scream, kick and fight if she ever had to give the baby up.

So no, she was going to keep this baby, and if Logan didn't want a part of it, she would raise the baby by herself. She was a strong independent woman, she was raised on the streets and could take care of herself perfectly, so Logan could take off for all she cared. But, Ororo thought, on some level she really did want Logan to stay, to hold her close and tell her he would help her take care of his child. But this thought only made Ororo cry harder as she discovered just before he doesn't care and would probably think the baby would be better off without him.

Ororo didn't care what he thought, any child would be lucky to have him as a father, and although Logan didn't know it, all the children loved him. They wouldn't show it through hugs and other tacky ways of affection but they would show it by always going to him for help. The kids would ask him about subjects like family and about the humans and Logan would give them good advice. What kind of advice would Logan give now, Ororo mused, Logan was protective of Rogue and Kitty and threatened any guy who tried to date them and would most likely kill them if they ever tried thinking of sex.

Even though Logan didn't regret that night, Ororo knew he would now. He would tell her that he wished he never had that night with her and how this child was not his. It was hers and he was not going to take any responsibility for it.

Ororo's tears still rang down her cheeks as she wiped them away with her hand while glancing at the clock. It was late and she didn't feel like doing any work, she wasn't bothered to pick the papers up so she just stepped over them in her bare feet, she moved to her shower and thanked the Goddess as the hot water fell over her shoulders, there she could voice her cries and let the tears fall over her body and wash down the drain.

oOOo

The next morning Ororo didn't want to get out of bed, sure it was a Saturday but she had to get up and make breakfast. Maybe one of the other teachers would notice she was still in bed and make breakfast for all the younger children, as the older ones were all fine to make their own. Although no one had come up so far, that didn't mean they weren't going to.

Half the teachers already knew about Ororo 'illness' (but knew no further than her just being sick every few minutes) and would eventually come up to investigate and make sure she was okay. Ororo didn't feel like seeing anyone today but she knew she had too eventually.

Ororo turned onto her side and looked out her window next to her bed, watching as the sun flickered in and out of her room through the curtain, it billowed in the wind and cries over morning sport activates could be heard through the open window. She lowered her hand down and let it hover over her stomach, not game enough to actually put her hand on top of her womb where her baby was growing. Her baby was in there, growing in her and depending on her, but after it was born it would depend on its father for advice and help. She sighed, moving her hand away and sat up in her bed, pulling back her white hair.

She breathed in the fresh morning air, contemplating of getting up out of her bed to start the day, or lie down and sleep some more. But it wasn't her decision as she had to jump out of bed and run to the bathroom again "Oh no" she cried as she held her head over the toilet and threw up. It was starting to be a ritual, her running out of the room and throwing up, what was new to this was her feeling of dread, as she knew this baby was going to have a father regretting it.

She stopped heaving, flushed the toilet and sat up, her back against the wall as she sighed, her hand over her mouth as she thought about her choice. It was the right one, she knew it, but would other people agree? Would they tell her she was stupid for having this baby alone? Would they look down on her for having this one night in the first place?

Ororo heard knocking on the door "Ororo! I know you're in there! Let me in!" she heard Emma's muffled voice say, while she repeatedly knocked on the door. "First of all you leave me with that traitor, and then you get sick and don't tell anyone! So let me in so I can talk to you!"

Ororo sighed again, but kept in her place on the floor, waiting for Emma to stop and move away back downstairs. Emma continued to knock for another few seconds before it stopped and she heard her knob being turned. Ororo then remembered that Emma had a talent in lock picking which she learnt a couple of years back when she had begged Ororo to teach her. Ororo looked up to see Emma staring down at her, her face pulled into one of worry "Ororo are you-" Emma cut herself off as she read the thoughts on Ororo's surface. Which all happened to be about her pregnancy. Emma now knew everything about Ororo's pregnancy, but at that moment, Ororo didn't care at all.

"You're pregnant" she said it like a statement rather than a question, Ororo could see the surprise on Emma's face that Ororo, the most responsible on the team, had gotten herself into this situation. Ororo nodded and stood up, her silk night dress falling back over her thighs, she nodded weakly at the floor before side stepping Emma, the whole time avoiding Emma's eyes.

"Oh my god!" Emma yelled loudly, walking behind Ororo to the desk where Ororo stood, her arms around her body. "No!" she cried out, "I can't believe it! When did this-" but Ororo didn't care anymore, she was broken, crushed and pregnant.

"It happened 3 and a half weeks ago, okay Emma" Ororo said, turning back to Emma, she stared at her and Ororo wiped away any tears that may have escaped her eyes without her notice, she found they had trickled down her cheeks and Ororo was glad it was morning since she had no makeup on.

"Who's the father?" Emma asked.

Ororo let another tear roll down her cheek and sniffed before she answered "Logan" she finally muttered.

Emma backed away from Ororo, holding out her hand to her mouth "Noooo!" she said in a whisper before removing her hand. "Do you know for sure?"

"Yes I know it's Logan" Ororo snapped, the tears starting again in her anger.

"I meant do you know if you are pregnant?"

She pointed to the waste paper basket which had all the tests still lying in it "I've taken 7 tests Emma!" Ororo cried, the tears now pouring freely down her cheeks "I've been throwing up for days and I'm late! I don't think it can be any clearer!" Ororo raised one of her hands to her stomach but yet she still did not touch it, Emma's eyes flickered to her stomach and back to Ororo's eyes, her tear stained cheeks hot with her anger.

Ororo didn't want to cry, but with all this pressure and stress finally coming down on her, she couldn't stop. She felt so stupid for crying like this, and in front of Emma as well. "I don't know what to do! I don't know if I should keep it! I don't know what to do about Logan! I don't know anything about this at all so if you would like help out with a suggestion it would help me out a lot"

Emma took a step forward, hands out front and looking terrified of Ororo's outburst "Calm down Ororo! I mean, my goodness, you're pregnant. But don't you want a baby?"

Ororo paused, she had been asking herself the same question for 12 hours now, and still she didn't know for sure. "Yes, I do" she sniffed, wiping her hand across her nose.

"Well that's sorted, you want a baby so you're going to keep it. About Logan-" Emma started, but Ororo cut in.

"I can't tell him" Ororo said strongly, she was truly fearful of Logan's response, as Ororo knew that Logan wouldn't exactly jump for joy over an accidental pregnancy.

"You're not going to tell Logan?" Emma questioned "Because let me tell you Ororo, that man knows everything, and I think he's going to figure it out eventually"

"I know!" Ororo said, starting to cry again "I just don't know what to do! He practically told me that he doesn't want a child and I don't know how to tell him now he's going to be a father after only one night together!"

Ororo sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands and continued to cry, Ororo could hear Emma moving closer to her and Ororo wished that she would just leave so she could suffer by herself "Ororo! I've been in Logan's mind, and no matter what he says, deep down he really does want a family! I don't know but before his mind got wiped he had a feeling of wanting a family"

"But that's different!" Ororo cried, lifting her head from her hands to stare at Emma with hate "He wanted a child with his girlfriend or wife. I'm Logan's friend, we had one stupid night together and this baby is a complete accident!"

She felt Emma sit down next to her on the bed. "Ororo, just tell him!" Emma finally said, "You're just assuming that he doesn't want a baby. You don't know for sure"

Ororo sniffed and Emma continued while rubbing Ororo's back with a soothing hand "Logan is a rough guy, I should know, but the kids love them and I know he doesn't want to say it, but he loves them too and I know he hates it when they leave at the end of term." Ororo's tears dried but she didn't leave her position on the bed next to Emma "Ororo, I know he wants to have a kid some day and you just have to show him that his time is now...with you"

"I can't do it" Ororo whispered "I-I just can't tell him, I don't know how"

"Just do it" Emma said, standing up and leaving her place next to Ororo empty "He'll be surprised but I know he'll be happy about this baby"

"I hope you're right" Ororo murmured as Emma shut the door, Ororo climbed back into bed and watched the curtains billow in the wind.

oOOo

Ororo didn't go downstairs the whole Saturday, she had told Emma she needed time to think about her future and Emma was gracious and told everyone not to go up as Ororo was very sick. Emma told Ororo that Logan had tried to come upstairs at one point but Emma, knowing the Wolverine's heighted sense of smell (a ability which caused him to identify Mutants from each other could also be used to find out other secrets, a pregnancy for example...), told him not to go upstairs which Ororo was thankful for as she had longer to think about him.

On Sunday morning she awoke early and not being able to stand another day in her room, she went downstairs to the kitchen, she had hoped to avoid Logan but there he was at 7 am on a Sunday morning reading recent reports on Mutants at the kitchen bench. He looked up from his papers and smiled sweetly at Ororo, unaware that his future was residing in the person who smiled back at him. "Hey 'Ro, feeling better?"

"Yes, fine Logan" she said softly, smiling at him. In preparation for any meetings she may accidental have with Logan she had covered herself in perfume in hope to disguise the scent of her pregnancy from him and so far it was working out well as he only looked at her strangely once then dismissed that thought and shook his head, telling himself he was imagining it.

Ororo still hated Logan with a passion, but what Emma had said made her think. She hadn't changed her mind about him but she felt better about it, knowing there might be a small minute chance that he really did want a child. A very small chance.

Ororo opened the refrigerator and took out the milk for some tea. The date on the carton seemed pretty close to its past by date so she opened the carton and sniffed at the milk to make sure it hadn't soured, but this triggered some sort of gag reaction. She dropped the milk onto the counter and ran from the room and she was forced, once again, to find the closest bathroom, get down on her knees and throw up her late lunch from yesterday (which Emma was so kind to bring up to her, but Ororo wished she hadn't now).

"'RO! Are you okay?" she heard Logan asking on the other side of the door to the bathroom, she continued to throw up and Logan continued to bang on the door before someone interrupted him.

"Logan! What are ya doing?" Rogue asked outside.

"Ororo is busy heaving up her guts for no reason. You're a doctor, you tell me" Logan demanded.

"She's sick, stupid!" Rogue yelled at him "Ah told ya that yesterday that she had a bug and ya have to stay away from her" Ororo heaved again but nothing was coming so Ororo gave herself a check and got up, she was getting used to this throwing-up-her-guts-every-other-hour act but it didn't mean she liked it. She flushed the toilet and wiped her mouth with some paper before Rogue entered the bathroom with Megan at her side. "Megan, could ya hang with Logan for just a sec while Ah talk to Professor Munroe?"

"Okay" Megan nodded, her small wings disappearing out the door.

"Ororo, did ya take the test, Ah mean, are ya-" Rogue started to ask but was interrupted by Ororo holding up her hand.

"Yes" Ororo said, looking away from Rogue and at her reflection instead. She could see Rogue turning to look at Ororo's reflection as well but half her body was still towards Ororo, "I haven't told Logan yet"

"Ya better get moving" Rogue said, patting down her hair in the process "He told meh yesterday some other smell on ya other than a virus and he didn't know what it was. Ah don't think the perfume is goin' to work all day"

"You're right" Ororo sighed and looked at Rogue again, seeing an encouraging smile on her face "I'll tell him today...I have to anyway"

"Okay, nothin' is going to go wrong, just tell him and he'll be happy, Ah know it" she smiled and left the bathroom, Ororo looked at her reflection quickly and saw her hair had been messed up, she racked her fingers through it and flipped it over her shoulders. She then took a deep breath, she had to calm down, she was going to tell Logan the most life changing news ever.

"You can do this" she told her reflection, her eyes flashing blue as she realised if anyone came in she would look like a nut, but she shook her head, she needed to give herself confidence, "You can do this Ororo, Logan is your friend and he is going to happy about this"

As soon as Ororo said that statement, she didn't believe herself, just on Friday, Logan told her that he didn't want a baby, and no matter what anyone else said she felt like she saw the real side of Logan. It didn't matter though, he was going to be a father no matter what and if he wanted to take off that was his problem, she was going to have his child, with or without him.

After telling herself over and over that this was the right thing to do Ororo finally left the bathroom and went back into the kitchen. She wanted to turn back and go tell herself another million times that she could do this, but the longer she put it off, the more suspicious Logan would become and he would start to look for answerers. She entered the kitchen, expecting to find Logan alone again, but she found him sitting at the table looking at Megan while she crossed her small arms and fluttered her wings.

Ororo leant back into the doorway out of sight and watched them as they continued their conversation, "I know your right, but" Megan said, looking back to Logan "I just wish that humans would leave us all alone, or just try to be nice"

Logan gave a dark chuckle "We all wish for the same thing kid" Megan turned away from him to look out the door, Ororo backed away, not wanting to be seen during one of Logan's famous advice sessions "But we got to keep fighting"

"Why don't you guys just join Magneto?" she asked "He wants the same things"

"But not in the same way. There's a difference and I agree it would just be easier to fight his way but would we be proud of it later?"

Ororo glanced back into the room and saw Megan glare at Logan, but her face softened when she thought over what he had said "True...true" she muttered

"We'll get there eventually kid and when we do, anyone will be happy to have a Mutant in their family" he smiled, Ororo melted at Logan's gruff smile but there was a hidden sweetness in it. "Trust me, if we did it Magneto's way would we be happy to see everyone in pain and suffering, or would you rather see the world in harmony? Just go off and think about the right choices"

Megan gave a small childlike sigh and hopped of her chair and turned away from Ororo to look back at Logan "Thanks Logan...I'll keep that at mind"

Logan nodded as Megan left but stopped her again "Oh and kid?" he asked, making her turn back "Lay off the perfume, you're 7, not 17" he smirked, but there was a hidden seriousness to his voice.

Megan turned back around and Ororo saw a small smile play across her face as she did "Sure thing...I'm going to find Dr Darkholm" she dismissed herself and left the kitchen, but not before walking past Ororo, she stopped for a moment to look at her, "You know, Peppermint helps" the small girl walked on and Ororo was more confused by this behaviour. Peppermint tea helped what?

Ororo entered the kitchen and sat down across from Logan, he smiled at her "Ororo, remind me if I ever have a kid, to make sure it never hears a word about Magneto"

"Why?" Ororo asked, knowing the conversation was only going to cause her more pain.

"Because with half of the kids we take in, to them it's the Government's way or the Magneto way. There's no third option of the X-men way" he grimaced, taking a sip from his beer which he had acquired while Ororo was sick, Ororo noted that she couldn't do that anymore, she couldn't drink away the pain, although she never did that before, it was nice having the option. "So are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Much" she smiled, "You know Logan, the children that we take in have all be through hardship and they believe that making the world a better place the Magneto way would be easier, only because the people who bore them showed them exactly the human hardship, abandoning them or forcing them out of the house"

Logan shook his head and looked Ororo in the eye "Well, if I ever had a kid, I would not take off if it got hard" Ororo paused, staring at him and she was thankful that Logan took that moment to look out the window. This statement struck Ororo deeply. Logan just practically admitted that he would never leave his child if he ever had one. He didn't say he wanted a child, but he would not abandon it if he did have one, meaning that he wouldn't leave her.

But this quote from Logan had opened up a world to Ororo, she could tell Logan now about her pregnancy and not fear about his reaction. Everyone was right about Logan and finally she could see that.

Ororo smiled warmly at him, her happiness seeping through her and overflowing "You know Logan, someone could actually think you cared for these kids. The way you're acting"

Logan smirked at her, "No one gets to see my good side. Otherwise I get all the kids hugging me like the Pixie is doing right now to Rogue"

"It wouldn't be that bad Logan" Ororo said back in the same playful tone, feeling lighter every moment. "You're really a sweet guy and there aren't that many in the world"

"You better not tell anyone that 'Ro, otherwise I might have to come after you" Ororo smiled and decided that now wasn't the time to tell him about the baby, but she was going to tell him today, she just wanted to wait until it was a perfect moment to tell him.

"Logan, could you meet me in my office later this evening. It's regarding some information that I think you will appreciate" she said, beaming. She was going to tell him. She was.

He leaned back in his seat, looking more relaxed then Ororo had seen him before "Sure thing babe" he smiled, knowing that she hated that nickname, but for him she would play along. This time she was going to play harder, make him want it, make him miss her holding onto him, make him want to jump her all over again. Because that's exactly how she felt and she wanted to see she wasn't the only one.

She stood up and walked purposely towards him, hips swaying side to side, as she approached him. She saw something flicker in Logan's eyes as she leant down lifting his chin with her fingertips slowly she moved her mouth next to his ear, feeling Logan tense "Great!" huskily said, giving a seductive smirk and a small chomp with her teeth right next to his ear. She heard him gasp but she just laughed softly.

This was a normal part of their ritual, he would call her something 'offensive' and Ororo in return would use her powers of her beauty to make him feel like an idiot later on, however she would just give him a wink, nothing like this which could actually imply something. But the thing was that this time Ororo didn't fake it with a wink, she used her real feelings of lust. She really wanted to take him into the office later on and make him growl while she screamed again. And again. And again. Until there wasn't a breath left in her body.

But she had more important matters on her mind at the moment than her own wants and needs. She needed to think of someone else. "I'll see you later Logan" she smiled and waved as she left. She made the journey to her office to complete all the work she was unable to do yesterday due to her illness and depression with higher spirits than normal.

Ororo smiled to herself, she wasn't going to be alone again, she would have someone who is like her, someone she could be there for and someone who would be there for her. Although she thought Logan is going to be there for her too, he had just proved now that if he ever had a child (which he was in 8 months) that he would stick by it. Even if it was just with Ororo, he would still love this child like no other.

So Logan wouldn't abandon her, Ororo hoped, he would stick around for the baby, if not for her. Logan did like it when Rogue acknowledged that he was like a father to her, and maybe he would like a child to call his own. Someone he can teach to fight, although Ororo was a bit tense on that subject of her child learning combat skills, she was going to have a baby, it made her giddy saying that. _She _was going to have a _baby._ This topic didn't make her cry now, it made her feel light and happy.

Ororo sat down at her desk and pulled up her work with a smile on her face, everything was falling into place perfectly.

oOOo

The day passed quickly, various students had come in during the day for tutoring sessions and various teachers had come in complaining about each other (mostly it was just Rogue and Emma complaining about Remy, Rogue for sexual harassment and for Emma…well she just hated him), Ororo was so busy the only time she left her office in the whole day was during lunch, where she only ducked in to the kitchen for a moment to grab something and ate that in her office while she worked. To only a few moments later would run out again to throw up.

This was common now that most of the students didn't question this action, just assuming that Professor Munroe was under the weather again, but being such a work-a-holic she continued to work under stress filled moments. Ororo was just thankful she never ran into Logan on runs to the bathroom, as Ororo was pretty sure he would suspect something was up and start to ask questions.

Ororo decided to join the rest of the team for dinner that night, to keep up the act of normalcy, although everything was strange and different in her world now. Dinner was always a chaotic time at the institute, a teacher would be assigned to cook and then that teacher would ask a few students to help. So with pans frying, knives chopping, packets of food littering the floor, pots bubbling over and teenagers yelling and throwing food, the kitchen was not a place to be before dinner. Then there were those ever so helpful students who decided to use their powers to 'help' of course that always ended in a small fire.

Ororo walked into the dining room with just some peppermint tea for dinner (as suggested by Megan), searching the room for Logan. The dining room was full already and the students were chatting with their friends and eating their dinner. Thankfully no one had started to use their powers to make dinner more fun. The dining room was crowded with many tables for the students and a larger one for the teachers, it had been once a grand room, but now was reduced to a cafeteria, but it made sure all the students were there for dinner and Ororo loved that the school could act like one giant family.

Warren saw Ororo first and standing up he moved her chair away from the table, like a perfect gentleman. "Ororo, how are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down in his own chair when Ororo sat in hers.

"Still a little ill, but I should be over it soon" she glanced around the table quickly and saw the one person who mattered the most in the world not sitting there "Where's Logan?" she asked Warren, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"He went to go show the Danger room to Gambit" Bobby said, taking a bite of his carrot "Wanted to show him he could beat him in the real world and in the fake world" Bobby smirked, of course Logan would do something like that to an old friend, Ororo smiled at Bobby and sipped a little bit of her tea before she noticed Megan sitting next to Rogue who was across from her.

Ororo opened her mouth but Rogue spoke before she could "It's okay Storm, Ah wanted her to sit with meh"

"Rogue, you know perfectly well that Megan will make more friends if she sits with them" Ororo said, glancing at the girl while she ate her dinner, her sweet innocence making her look naive but Ororo knew better, even though she had only chatted with Megan for a few minutes she knew that Megan probably knew more than the entire student body put together. Ororo put her tea down on its saucer and stared at Rogue while her face changed slowly to childlike complaint.

"But 'Ro-" Rogue complained.

"We'll talk about this later" she said, holding up her hand.

Rogue glared at Ororo but Megan just looked at Ororo in fascination, pretending she hadn't heard a word about her being spoken "I see you're drinking the tea" Megan said, looking at Ororo with her dark eyes, Ororo glanced at her tea then back to the small girl.

"Yes, thank you for the tip Megan" the girl's wings fluttered in appreciation but she went back to eating dinner and silently thinking.

The rest of the dinner passed in ease, talking about students and class time tables, nothing much as they couldn't talk about X-men subjects such as missions while Megan was at the table. Halfway through dinner Peter's cell phone rang, in his rush to get to it he dropped his dinner utensils and Megan laughed at him, her laugh sounding like a pixie, cute but with a twist of evil. Finally he was able to get his phone and grinned at the name that crossed across it. "Kitty!" he cried, Ororo could here Kitty's excited voice from her seat at the table, 4 seats away from Peter.

Kitty and Peter had been known as a couple for the last 4 years, they were very sweet together and Ororo knew eventually they would get married as they were so in love. Kitty was a 2 years younger than Bobby, Rogue and Peter so she was just completing her final year of college before she could come and teach, and become an X-man.

Peter and Kitty made the long distance thing work, taking weekends and holidays to go visit each other, but this being her final year Kitty wasn't able to come to the institute that much so they had to make do with phone calls and Peter making the 4 hour trip down to Kitty's school to get 'alone' time. But she had come down 3 times so far and everyone always had a great time with her, even Rogue.

Peter excused himself from the table and took his conversation into the next room, Bobby rolled his eyes "They are so sickly sweet" he muttered to his dinner.

"Is that because she liked him better than you, or because you hate romance in any form?" Rogue smirked, she was still sore over Bobby and Kitty's close friendship near the end of her relationship with Bobby, which she told him was why they broke up in the end, but she did like to tease bobby still about his failed relationship with Kitty, which only lasted a couple of months before Kitty figured she really liked Peter.

"_Is that because she liked him better than you?"_ Bobby mimicked in a high pitched voice, watching Warren getting up from his seat so he could over see the children who had gotten detention and were forced to do the dishes. Megan laughed again, her pink hair falling over her face showing the pixie ears that Ororo didn't notice before.

"Megan" Ororo said, the table turning back their attention to her "How are you liking school so far"

"Great" she said with an impish grin, "Dr Darkholm lets me help her in the med labs"

"She does, does she?" Ororo said, turning towards Rogue, "Tell me Rogue, do you think it's safe for a seven year old to help in the med labs where she could get hurt?"

"She's not doing much Ororo" Rogue said, leaning back in her chair, her hand hovering over Megan's head "Ah just don't know how to work the computer and she does. So Ah let her help meh put in the data when someone comes in. God knows Ah wouldn't let her _in _the med lab"

"No, just next to it" Bobby smirked, but yelped a second later. And through gritted teeth he hissed "Why did you hit me in the shin?"

"Did ya want me to aim higher?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"At what? He hasn't got much" Emma laughed cruelly. Bobby's cheeks turned a dark red as Emma, Rogue and Megan laughed at him.

"I can't deal with this" Ororo muttered, draining the rest of her tea and leaving the table as the so called teachers started to argue.

oOOo

It was late when Logan finally came to Ororo, he was smiling at her and Ororo noted the way he looked at her was full of lust. Oh how Ororo wanted to kiss him again, feel him hold her close and whisper things into her ear, their skin touching and being assaulted with hands and kisses, the feeling of him in her over and over again. But she couldn't, it was one night that she wanted, and that's what she got. And even though she said she didn't care for the consequences back then, the consequence of that night was now going change her life. Either for the better or for the worst.

"You wanted to see me 'Ro" he asked, sitting in front of her desk. Ororo smiled at him, she loved it when he called her 'Ro, it was so much nicer to a few weeks ago when he would only call her Storm, although he did yell, growl and moan 'Ororo' that night. And she didn't mind those couple of times when he called her Storm, especially when she bit him and he growled her codename in response, making her feel as untameable as the storm its self.

"Yes, thanks for coming" Ororo got out of her chair and sat in the chair next to Logan, taking his hand in hers, feeling over his fingers which had held her so tightly, causing bruises on her hips. He looked at her hand and tightened his grip on it but he made no move to get closer to her. Ororo wondered what Logan was thinking, most likely the furthest thing from her pregnancy, he was most likely thinking the same things as her as she did about him. About how she dug her heels into his lower back until she couldn't get any closer, how she had screamed his name out (his real name and his code name) as loud as she could, how powerful she looked when she took control of him and was on top he told her after it all.

Ororo still had on her perfume, she didn't want him to figure it out until she actually told him. Then she could see the look on his face as she finally admitted that he had gotten her pregnant. Ororo took a deep breath before she jumped into the heart of the matter "Logan you remember...that night, we had a few weeks back? How we slept together"

Logan sighed pulling away from Ororo a little but still held onto her hand, "All the time" he smiled sweetly, his smile was contagious and it made her smile back at him "What about it?"

"Well..." Ororo looked away, nibbling her lip, out of the corner of her eye she could see Logan leaning forward trying to get a better look at her, this was hard. It was even harder than waiting for the stupid test to tell her pregnant in the first place, telling the father that he was going to have a child he never planned was a thousand times harder "I have something to tell you...and I don't know how to say it"

"You can tell me darlin'" he said, using his other hand to hold up her chin to him, smiling roughly which only made Ororo want to straddle him in the chair and make love to him right in the office, right now. But that smile also reminded Ororo of the way he had told her that he would never abandon his child if he had one, which gave Ororo the confidence in herself. "Just say it" he said softly.

Ororo gave him a strong smile. She gripped Logan's hands harder and looked away from him for a second to rethink her decision. This was right, she was making the right decision about telling Logan, he was going to stick by her with this baby and he wouldn't take off, she knew it. All she had to do now was tell him.

"Logan...I'm" she paused again, she took another deep breath. She could do this, she could say the words out loud to the only person that mattered.

"Yeah?" he asked, squeezing her hands with his.

She looked into his eyes, watching as a million emotions played across his eyes. Then she finally said it.

"I'm pregnant"

**Author's note: so this chapter cuts off! I love playing god with you mere mortals. So will Logan be happy about the news or will he take off? Who know? Well I do! If you want me to update faster post 10 reviews and the update is up a day ahead of schedule.**

**Peppermint tea does help with morning sickness, as Megan told Ororo, and you may have guessed that Megan is the child who will stay in the story. I never had the dinner scene but since I love Kitty and Peter I decided to add it in to show you all that they are together and not her and Bobby (I wanted to throw things at him when he was getting a little too close for comfort in the third X-men). I promise the angsty chapters will be over soon and it will get to the happy (okay not really. Happ**_**ier**_**) chapters soon, there will be more action and I'll stop doing this day after day stuff otherwise I'll have this 70 long chapter story, and to tell you in advance, I've planned about a far amount so you won't be bored.**

**That whole Abortion bit, I'm sorry if that offended you in any way, but I am strongly against abortion and I'm pretty sure an African Goddess would be too.**

**I did enjoy writing the 'Bobby and Rogue" moment, and writing "Ororo's breakdown" was also fun, as she got to finally yell at Emma, which I know all of you want to do at times.**

**Review and make a little girl in Australia happy (because I really have nothing else to jump for joy over).**


	6. Unforeseen Circumstance

**Chapter 5**

**Unforeseen Circumstance **

She had told him. Ororo had finally told the only person that mattered that she was pregnant. All she awaited now was his answer. Would he be upset? Suprised? Angry? Ororo hoped it was only the second one.

"You're-you're what?" Logan asked, his hand slacking in hers.

"I'm pregnant, Logan" Ororo repeated, moving her head so she could get into Logan's line of view again. She smiled slightly, with encouragement, this was a normal response she was expecting.

"Is it mine?" he asked, Ororo narrowed her eyes and zapped him, she blamed the hormones, but she actually did want to zap him for suggesting something like that. What kind of person did he think she was?

Ororo nodded her head sternly, but the same look of understanding was still on her face. Although it was a normal question to ask if you just found out a one night stand was pregnant, it still cause Ororo a little bit of pain that he would think like that "Yes, it's yours Logan….I mean, who else's would it be?"

Logan jumped from his chair, letting go of Ororo's hand and started to pace the room, Ororo sat in her chair still and let Logan pace, watching as he pulled his fingers through his hair. She wanted to do that, pull on his hair again. No this was not the time to be thinking _those _sorts of thoughts. She blamed the hormones for making her feel all horny.

She didn't want to freak Logan out by doing anything to pregnant so she swallowed back the bile that had risen to her throat, she found it easier to hold it back this time but she knew she was going to pay for it later. Ororo wanted to hold Logan's hand, to tell him it was going to be fine, that he was going to be a father and he could be as involved as he wanted.

Finally he spoke "But we-I mean-how did this happen? We used protection for god's sake" he growled, Ororo thought about the same thing over and over. How on earth was it possible that she would be pregnant when they took all that caution. In retrospect though, they could have done more, maybe she should have been on the pill. But she never bothered to get any for months, so the condoms were all they had.

"They aren't always effective Logan." Being a woman she knew the risks but men didn't always know that condoms weren't enough, Logan looked at her quickly, his stare was full of confusion "And we know we had sex a fair amount that night, so it could have happened the first time, or the last time" Ororo said from her seat, she was un-afraid to till out straight what she thought. For Goddess' sake, he had already seen her naked (and she knew he enjoyed it), Logan started to pace again, holding his hand to his mouth.

Ororo was not going to side step what had happened. She enjoyed it and she was never going to use the flimsy 'made love' term. It was sex that night, good and simple, nothing more and obviously nothing less. But Ororo wished it had been more than just sex now, since she was going to have a child out of it. Ororo was starting to get scared as Logan hadn't muttered a word in awhile. "Logan, please, it's not that bad" she begged.

"Not that bad?" Logan asked, stopping his pacing and standing in front of Ororo, the confusion still there but only just as his eyes were layered thickly with anger "What are you talking about? I got you _pregnant, _I mean, are you gonna to get-"

"I'm not getting rid of it" Ororo coldly said, staring at him through narrowed eyes. "Logan, what did you expect me to do?"

"I don't know" he hissed "I never thought something like this was ever going to happen to me, let alone with you…I'm still trying to process all this" he said, pacing the room faster, Ororo got out of her chair gingerly and noticed the way Logan was staring at her, or more pacifically her stomach, Ororo felt self conscious but she didn't let on. "Is that why you were sick?" he asked

Ororo exhaled deeply, "Yes" she said, looking at Logan in the eye, he needed all the facts and she be damned if she didn't tell him everything "But I've only known about this since Friday….I wanted to wait to tell you"

"Why wait?" he asked, looking away from her. Why wait indeed, should she say she didn't want to admit it herself, or should she say she was going to at one point but he made it abundantly clear he didn't want a child. Only this morning did she decide it was going to be the day she told him.

"I have my reasons" she stated simply.

Ororo walked towards Logan to where he stood looking out the dark window. She could see her reflection in it, she looked the same but Logan's face was tense, his jaw clenched and his fingers curled, he was looking at the window, but not really, like he was trying to look past it to a world where he could understand what was happening.

She paused waiting for him to talk, to say anything that would make her calm the storm within that wanted to hug him, kiss him, have him all over again. "Logan, please say something" she whispered, putting her hand on his arm.

But he shook it off and headed for the door, not looking at Ororo, "Just don't Storm" her heart sank. No, she was not going back to this, he was not going to distance himself from her this time. It was all or nothing and this time she had more to lose.

"Don't call me that" she yelled, hearing the thunder clap behind her, Logan turned to her, the anger reflecting her own in his eyes. "You're acting like a child!" she screamed louder.

"We had one night and that was it, and now you're pregnant. How am I supposed to react to that?" he asked with venom. Ororo was taken aback, he was not taking the news like she had planned, he was taken if far worse than she ever imagined, this was wrong, he was meant to upset for awhile but then he was meant to be happy, not this, nothing like this.

"I gotta go…I can't be here anymore" there it was. He just said the words that everyone had promised Ororo that he wouldn't say. He was going to leave her right now with his child.

He had just said that it was an accident and that he doesn't want a child. Ororo had nothing left but her dignity, "Fine, leave!" she screamed, the thunder clapping again, the rain pelting the window like small pebbles against a brick wall "Just go Logan, that's all you ever do!" she cried.

Ororo heard him mutter about being back later, but she didn't want to listen. He should leave for good, or stay here. How dare he get a choice when she wasn't able to get one. It was unfair that Logan was able to take off right, while she had to stay at the school, work and throw up her guts to his child.

She turned away from Logan, unable to look at him when he left. But she left the rain outside pouring, at least she could make him wet, although he wouldn't catch a cold. How she hated that healing factor of his. But Ororo had a small beacon of hope that Logan wouldn't leave, like that night so long ago where he was meant to but he stayed, and was rewarded with Ororo throwing herself at him.

But she knew Logan. He should have moved on years ago, but he stayed on for the sake of everyone around him and for not having a good enough reason to leave. But she still hoped, if he left she wouldn't just cry a little more, she would be broken, unfixable, waiting for someone to put her back together, which she knew no one would do except for the man that was about to leave her.

But most of all she was angry. He shouldn't leave. This was his fault! Granted it was all her idea, but Logan was the one that continued, and it was his part of the DNA that actually made this whole baby possible. So he shouldn't get to leave, he should stay here and stay with her!

Ororo heard the door slam behind her and the winds outside picked up as she fumed. She hated him. She hated Logan with a passion. She hated Logan so much she just wished she could reverse time and never have that night with him. Yes it made her feel better, but for what, a couple of weeks? Now she was going to be depressed for the next 8 months.

She hated him as Logan drove out of the garage on Scott's bike. She hated him as he left her. She hated him for getting her pregnant. She hated him for agreeing to that night in the first place. She hated him for making her feel this way.

But deep down, the thing she hated Logan most for. She hated that she liked him more than a friend could ever make her feel. Ororo finally let the tears that she held back fall, her body was shaking with her sobs and the weather outside mimicked her feelings as she cried.

oOOo

Ororo was lying in her bed. Doing nothing, saying nothing, feeling nothing. She was an empty shell, broken into a million pieces and no one had bothered to put her back together yet.

It had been raining for 4 days straight, the rain never letting up for second unless to let the thunder and lightning start up again. Her rage never lasted though and it rained harder after that. Every teacher had come up to her room at some point to ask if she was alright, but their questions were met with thunder.

Rogue had come up at some point, alone for once (as Megan still followed her like a lost puppy), to tell Ororo that she had to eat, if not for her, but for her baby. But reminding her about her accidental pregnancy only made Ororo cry harder.

The way Logan had left her like that caused her to have thunder clap so loudly it could be heard over the entire state, but the rain poured for days because she discovered something. She wanted Logan to be happy about this pregnancy not for the baby, but because it was her. She wanted him to thank her, she wanted him to react better, she wanted Logan to love her back like Ororo did to him. But now all she did was hate him with a passion so large and so deep that it overwhelmed her other emotions for him.

"'Ro, Ah have ya dinner" Rogue knocked on the door. Ororo ignored it, but she knew Rogue would get in eventually because Ororo just_ had_ to teach Emma how to pick locks. Ororo didn't move, she never moved now except to eat and to use the bathroom, she just stared out the window curled up in the fetal position under her blanket.

Ororo heard the door open the sound of heels across wooden floors, then the sound of titter and a metal on wood as Rogue placed a tray full of food onto the desk.

For the last 4 days she had just come in, placed the food onto the table, would check her for any signs of damage that Ororo may have caused herself, tried to talk to Ororo, mentioning how the classes where going without her and what the Xmen were up to, then would leave. Today was different as she pulled the blankets of Ororo. "Get up" she commanded.

Ororo did not respond, but curled her arms further around herself in hope that this would make Rogue leave. Rogue stepped into Ororo's view, bending down to her level and looking at Ororo in the eyes, but Ororo just looked past her and looked out to her own little world. "Ah'm sick of all this rain. Ya've had this self loathin' period now, but now it's time to get up"

Still Ororo did not move, Rogue hissed through her teeth and bent down and roughly picking up Ororo, forcing her to sit up in her bed. Ororo looked away from Rogue and focused on a spot on the floor, Rogue bent down so now Ororo had no where to look and was forced to look at Rogue. Rogue's eyes softened when she finally figured how broken Ororo was, as her eyes said it all and Ororo knew it. She hated looking at her eyes in the mirror, so she didn't. Ororo hadn't seen herself in days.

Rogue's tight grip on Ororo slaked, only a small amount as she thought Ororo would drop if she didn't hold on tight enough "Ororo, ya have to get up. Screw Logan" Rogue said, her eyes never moving from Ororo's flickering from side to side as Ororo's recognized that hateful name. "Ororo, ya gonna have a baby. Think about how ya wanted a baby and about nothin' else"

Ororo sniffed, finally looking, really looking at Rogue. She was right, this wasn't just about her anymore. It was about her baby, and Ororo would be damned if she let Logan ruin this time for her. The rain lifted slightly, only slightly, Ororo was still upset after all, but the sky wasn't so grey.

"You're right" she muttered, the first words she had said in days, they sounded raspy, so she coughed and started again. "You're right, This isn't just about me anymore"

Ororo moved away from Rogue grips and placed her feet onto the ground, the first time in days. Rogue held onto Ororo's arms just to make sure she wouldn't fall but Ororo shook her off. "Rogue, could you schedule me an ultra-sound appointment at the hospital?" she said, moving to her bathroom to take a long awaited shower.

Rogue looked at Ororo in confusion. For 4 days Ororo would not speak, eat or even look at another person, and if anyone brought up the subject of her pregnancy or Logan, Ororo would cause twisters and thunder. So to see her walking to the bathroom, asking about her pregnancy and to actually talk to someone was amazing.

"Yeah, uh, sure" Rogue stammered, tripping over her own words. She ran to the door, but then backed up to Ororo again, "Okay, are you going to be in class today?" she asked.

Ororo paused, should she teach class? Obviously no one knew yet about her pregnancy except Rogue, Emma and Logan and everyone probably thought Ororo was deathly ill, to be away from work for so long. So when they did see her in class again, they would know she had been sick, congratulate her for getting better, and get on with their lives.

But Ororo could not get on with her life. Her life was in vertigo, she didn't know if she should continue her life like nothing had happened and raise the baby by herself. Or should she just go back and reminisce on all her mistakes that had gotten her to this place in time. She decided to go with the first option, it was healthy and the baby was going to happen no matter what she wished. "Yes, I'll be in class. Make sure to tell the others that I am coming downstairs, feeling better from my virus. But mention that I am still sick, but well enough to work."

Rogue nodded and left the room for Ororo to have some privacy. Ororo sighed, the rain let up, it was more of a sun shower now, and then the rain completely stopped. Ororo could hear the cries of joy downstairs of the rain finally stopping, but it was hard to keep it that way, but she needed to be strong now. For her and her baby.

oOOo

Ororo acted normally at breakfast, like it was any other day, when in reality it was a huge leap for Ororo. She had been in her room for days and the people who helped her did not expect to see her get down to the real world so quickly. Emma and Rogue were treating her with caution but the rest of the team and school were smiling and saying their daily greetings to her, like she was never missing.

Remy was sitting at the table, and the second he saw Ororo sit down he opened his mouth "Stormy, how are you Chere?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you. Much better" Ororo replied, Remy, or Professor LeBeau now, had an awful habit of teasing people. Of course never the students, but the teachers and some of the Jr. Xmen, so far he had done nothing to Ororo, but Remy had picked up the annoying habit of calling her 'Stormy', of course it was better than just 'Storm', which she happened to despise now.

"Oh good, but I thought I was right when I guessed you were-ah!" Remy yelped, looking at Rogue who was innocently working on some papers while drinking from her daily dose of caffeine, which happened to in the form of a Coke.

As Ororo had gathered on her way down to breakfast this morning, she knew that half the school suspected she really was ill, while the other half thought she was deeply depressed about Logan leaving. Some were making bets on what and others were whispering behind her as she finally left her room. Ororo thought with irony it was the combination of the two that she stayed in her room for 4 days.

Rogue leant down next to Ororo, shoving a piece of paper into her hands as she did "Ah got ya an appointment for today and at quarter past 7, okay? At a Mutant doctor, they were just able to squeeze you in"

"Thanks Rogue" Ororo smiled, folding the paper as Rogue leant back and sticking it into her pocket.

"You know, we have all the medical equipment here…." Rogue trailed off.

Ororo nodded to her, not agreeing but not dismissing either. Rogue smiled happily and went to the garbage to throw away her can. Rogue was detailed in every possible area of medicine, and although she was still learning some parts, she was never able to test her skills in pregnancies and infanthood. At least someone is getting something out of this, Ororo thought bitterly.

So the day passed in ease, well wishes were happy to see her back and Ororo was glad for the distraction. She only ever left the room in a rush once in the whole day, but came back in saying that it was a false alarm even though she knew it wasn't. Everyone was glad and acted like Ororo had never left and Ororo was happy to play along.

Dinner that evening was normal, it was Peter's turn to oversee dinner, and being one of the better cooks in the school, the student body almost inhaled his food. Rogue, not wanting to upset Ororo, sent Megan to go eat with Sofia and Laurie instead of eating with her that evening. But Ororo didn't care. She liked the girl purely because she was interesting and it distracted her from her problems.

Ororo smiled and laughed during dinner, but it was all an act, her laugh was empty and her smile was full of regret, she knew it made Emma slightly uneasy as she knew what Ororo was really thinking. Dinner passed quickly and after the detention students had finished cleaning the kitchen, the group relocated there for a more relaxed discussion, the talk turned to missions for the Xmen soon after, there were a few disturbances from Mutant hate groups but the Xmen all agreed that unless it got out of control they would not interfere.

Ororo watched as various students grabbed after dinner snacks before going to study while she was forced to run out of the room and throw up. She came back in smiling, telling them it was all part of her illness and they should ignore it. The Xmen turned back to talking about mission and Ororo sat down to some crackers that Rogue so kindly had left her.

"Oh no" Emma said in surprise, dropping her pop tart back onto its plate, her eyes wide with fright.

"Em, what is it?" Warren asked, leaning towards her and grabbing her hand across the table, his wings moving involuntarily with small flicks.

The kitchen paused while Emma sensed another mind thinking thought so terrible she would drop her pop tart in fear, and Emma loved her pop tarts "He's back" she whispered. Ororo wondered what on earth she could mean, but the sound of that motorcycle told her everything. Logan was back.

Ororo felt her anger starting up again and this time she could not control it. The sound of the sky darkening and the heavens opening up to lighting came from outside. Logan as back again, and Ororo never wanted to see his face again. She finally got over it, she finally got over him leaving her in Ororo's time of need. And now he was back to ruin it all over again.

Thunder cracked loudly and the screams of small girls from upstairs stopped Ororo from making a twister next door, she pulled back her anger but it still stormed outside. This was the father of her child, the abandoner, coming back for some stupid reason…..and she wanted to zap him into next week.

"Get him out of here" Ororo hissed through a clenched jaw. Rogue ran out the door, obviously to the garage to tell Logan that he was unwelcome here. The others all stared at Ororo in fright but she ignored them all, she wanted to show her emotions for once and she didn't care if others were scared.

Next to her, Ororo could see Bobby lean over the table to Remy. "Told you. Now pay up" he said, holding his palm flat to Remy.

"Pay up to what?" Emma asked, then her eyes narrowed as she realized what she was hearing. "You _bet _on what was making Storm upset?"

"Duh" Bobby and Remy said at the same time, talking as though Ororo was not in the room, and in the sense, she really wasn't. She was a million miles away trying to think about how her life had turned upside down. But she still saw and heard them. Remy smiled with good nature as he handed over the money, Ororo thought that he was most likely going to get it all back whenever the boys decided to have a 'friendly' game of poker.

Another crack of thunder sounded around the school, but seeing the lights flicker on and off Ororo recognized that she was getting out of control, so using her meditation breathing she calmed down the storm. But not the storm inside her. "Is he gone?" Ororo asked Emma.

Everyone turned to Emma, who looked at Ororo in terror and while getting an encouraging hand squeeze from Warren, she shook her head from side to side, making the storm outside larger. Ororo's let her face harden. "What?" she hissed.

"Rogue couldn't make him leave!" Emma said anxiously "He wants to see you and nothing is going to stop him"

The others sensed that when Logan came into the room it was going to be a full blown fight between him and Ororo, so they went off in other directions giving flimsy excuses until the only one left in the kitchen was Emma. "Well" she said uneasily "I better be getting to work, you know"

"It's 7 at night on a Friday" Ororo said, quirking an eyebrow "What kind of class starts now?"

"Um…" Emma paused "Yes, I just don't want to be here." she said, scampering off. But she ducked into a kitchen only a moment later to fetch her fallen pop tart. Ororo glared at the door as Emma left, watching it with intensity. She would be ready when Logan walked through that door, she was going to make him leave if he liked it or not. He made his choice and now he had to live with it.

Ororo tried to reach for her glass, but she zapped it with electricity away from her, making it tip onto the table and spill its contents over the table. Ororo cursed, a rare sight for anyone to come across. Why did he have to come back, and to see her? Why couldn't he just do something right for once and just leave and stay gone. Why were her wishes were never met?

But she knew that wasn't true. She wished that someone could stop Jean. She got that. She wished she could have one night of stupidity. She got that. She wished for a new family, to replace the ones that died. She got that. She got all her wishes, but never in the way anyone would want them to be granted. And really, wasn't Logan the centre of all these wonderful problems being solved?

"I don't care" she could hear Logan yell down the hall, she tightened her fingers until her nails dug into her palms, almost breaking her skin. She had to ignore him, he wouldn't get far, all the others would stop him soon enough as they didn't want to see Ororo spiral back into her depression. "I want to see her"

"Well she doesn't want to see ya!" she heard Rogue argue, the sound of footsteps were getting closer as was the heavy footfalls of Logan.

"You better leave _Mon Ami_" Remy said in the other room, joining with Rogue. "Stormy is not a happy femme and she would zap your ass"

Ororo felt a twitch of a smile, but she fought it and it stayed under control, "You better leave, Logan" Warren said.

"Okay, what the hell is with you guys" she heard Logan say, hearing him shove them aside. There was a moment's pause before Logan growled "Don't even think about it Rogue" obviously Rogue had taken off her safety glove and was about to touch Logan to prevent him from any closer, but he knew all her tricks. He was the one that trained her in the first place "Frost stay out of my mind and don't try to block me Metal man"

"Don't you understand Logan" Emma pleaded, joining the fight "It was raining for 4 days straight and this is the first time she has been out of bed for days. She's better off without you and you know it."

She heard Logan growl and knock the others out of the way, the sound of metal on the floor alerted Ororo that Peter went to his metal form to block Logan. To protect her. Ororo felt touched that they would stand up to Logan, the vicious Wolverine, for her. The woman who was as cold as the weather during winter.

But Peter had a kind heart and would only hurt a person if they called for it. He obviously thought that Logan deserved a chance and let him pass because a second later Logan had entered the kitchen, his body wet with rain and a blank expression on his face. "Leave" Ororo commanded, the storm outside brewing once more, growing larger every second she had to look at Logan.

"No" Logan said back in the same tone. "Look 'Ro, I'm sorry for taking off-"

"You're going to be" Ororo hissed, her hair whipping to the side as a gust of wind entered the wind via the open window. She knew her eyes had turned white because of her power and with the combination of white hair whipping around her head and eyes she must have looked like a perfect daemon. "You left me, and you're just going to do it again"

"I'm not leaving" Logan said, the fire blazing in his eyes, the same fire that had been there on_ that_ night. "This is my kid too"

Ororo growled. How dare he! How dare he include himself now after almost 5 days! "It's not yours anymore. You gave up that right when you left me" Ororo snarled, watching Logan's face cloud over with misery, but changed back to his emotionless face, waiting to fight back. Ororo hoped to god that Emma carted off anyone who was around.

_Everyone is upstairs, but you got to go now. _She got telepathically from the white witch.

Ororo groaned, she was going to be late for her ultra-sound if she didn't right now, and she didn't know when she would be able to get another time, Mutant hospitals were rare and appointments were rarer still. "Logan by the time I get back I want you gone, got that?" she asked, or rather demanded, her eyes turning from white to blue.

"Where are you going?" he asked as Ororo walked past him, glad to see that no one was in the hall. She despised the elevator, it was such a small space with no room to breathe. It was like a prison to her. But right now, it was her escape.

"None of your business" she said, opening the door for the elevator and stepping in, feeling the familiar fear of claustrophobia come over her. But she would not let on her fear in front of Logan "Remember Logan, I want you gone and out of me and _my _baby's life" she put a great deal of enthusiasm on _my_ baby because that was just it, it was hers and only hers now. Logan gave up that chance and he was never going to get it back.

Anger, confusion and misery swept over Logan's face as the elevator closed. The second it did Ororo leaned back on the wall, exhaling deeply, thinking over the conversation she had just had and what the consequence was going to be. It was a defying moment, and she couldn't take back all that anger now, not that she wanted to.

Or did she?

oOOo

The few Mutant doctors in New York had formed a hospital on the outskirts of the city. This was because their skills were not being put to the test because of discrimination against Mutants, and they were so tired of seeing sick or dying Mutants on the street, unable to enter a hospital because of their mutation. Ororo always thought it was a worthy cause, so every year the children did charitable events where they did anything from a bake sale to dying their hair to raise money for the hospital.

Of course they never needed to go to the hospital because of Rogue, but those Mutants who broke a limb on the street, needed surgery or contracted a virus, they needed the hospital where they would be treated quickly, but Ororo knew they would never need the hospital. How wrong she was. As Ororo parked in the hospital parking lot she admired the building, it was like any other hospital but the difference being that it was guarded. Only Mutants were allowed in, Ororo nodded to the guards and let her pass.

When she entered the hall way she noted that the paternal and young children's part of the hospital was in the west wing. Walking down that way she encountered no one except a male doctor who pointed her into the right waiting room. As Ororo entered the room she saw a mother sitting in the chairs with her son, who had an obvious mutation of red scales, gills and fins.

"Ororo Munroe for Doctor Coe?" Ororo questioned the secretary when she saw her.

The secretary nodded her bright blue head, and then giving Ororo a bright smile of small pointed teeth she pointed to the chairs with a blue hand "Take a seat, the doctor will be with you in a moment".

Ororo sat down in a soft seat and stared into space. Damn Logan, she thought, why did he insist on coming back? Why did he insist on fixing his mistake when it was beyond repair? Why didn't he realize that it was too late and that he should just take off? Ororo hoped that he had left by the time she got back as the news of her baby really existing was going to make her all emotional, and she be damned if she let Logan see her cry one more time.

She didn't have long to wait "Ororo Munroe?" a voice asked the room.

Ororo picked up her few items she was able to gather before she left and walked into the room the doctor showed her. Dr Coe was a tall woman with a short bronze bob, but a kind smile across her face, her eyes full of knowledge behind rimmed glasses. "Well Ms Munroe, your doctor on campus told me that you can here for an ultra sound" Ororo nodded.

"Pregnant. Just over a month?" Dr Coe asked, Ororo nodded again but with more regret, but the kind doctor just smiled, sitting down in her chair and looking at Ororo over her glasses.

"How did you know?" Ororo asked, confused.

Dr Coe tapped the side of her head with her pen "Inherent Omniscience" Ororo nodded. Omniscience was a rare ability to cross, as they knew everything that ever was. What was happening now, in the past or in the future. Most Omnisciences went crazy with all their knowledge, it was too much to know how the earth was created and how it was going to end. But an inherent omniscience knew only what they wanted to know, which made the world of difference.

Ororo nodded her head, "I see why you got into the profession"

"Actually, this is my doctorate year" Ororo looked at her in confusion, while Coe wrote down on her computer some facts she need not ask Ororo at all "Every year I change careers, so to spread my knowledge for the Mutant community"

"That's very noble of you"

"Thank you" she said, before she faced Ororo again "Well I heard your doctor, Miss Darkholm, does have the equipment for this sort of procedure, so this might be the one time I see you, which I think is a positive"

"Why is that?" Ororo asked, watching Coe get up from her chair. She opened a door to the room next door and motioned for Ororo to step through. The room reminded Ororo of the Med lab back at the institute, full of the latest equipment that was shined to perfection.

"Because Mutants are being watched all the time in hospitals, my dear, if they ever discovered a Mutant like you was pregnant, well, the hospital wouldn't be safe" she said, pointing Ororo to the examination table, Ororo looked at the table and moved slowly towards it.

Through narrowed eyes, Ororo asked "I'm different because….?"

"You're in the media. They know how powerful you are. And if you were ever found in this section of the hospital, well….." she left the sentence hanging with a twist of her hand but Ororo had a pretty good idea on how to fill the rest of the sentence in.

The table was cold when Ororo lay down on it. Coe started up the machine and Ororo, knowing the drill for this sort of thing, pulled back the hem of her shirt to show her well toned stomach, something she was going to lose in a month or two. Just as Coe pulled the gel off the shelf Logan came banging into the room using the door in the hall. "What are you doing here?" Ororo asked, pulling down her shirt again, never wanting Logan to see a piece of her clothed flesh again.

Doctor Coe stood up, moving away from Ororo in a panic "I'm just going to check on the boy after you, it's probably just a cold" she told Ororo while leaving through the door Logan just entered.

Both X-men paused for a moment, unsure of what to do now, here they were in a doctor's office, Ororo preparing for an ultra sound and Logan wanting to be there. For normal couples this was not unusual. But no one in the room was wanted. Ororo wasn't wanted as she called for too much attention, Logan wasn't wanted because of the pain he caused Ororo and their unborn child was never wanted. It was a long time before Logan finally spoke. "Ororo, I'm so sorry" he apologized.

"About what?" Ororo retorted, getting up from the table and further away from Logan. "You have a lot of things to be sorry for so enlighten me on what pacifically" she said sarcastically.

Logan growled in frustration, moving towards Ororo, but she stood her ground and stared at him with hatful eyes, he looked at her with eyes full of sadness but Ororo had no sympathy for the traitor. "I'm sorry for getting you pregnant, for leaving you, but I'm sorry of how I took advantage of you that night"

"If I remember correctly I took control of that evening, I wanted it and I know you did too" Ororo said. She was not sorry for that night, at the least she was thankful for it, glad even. Even now she still never regretted it (on some level she did).

Logan realized he had said the wrong thing, so he tried to back track. "I know, but it was still wrong for me to go along with it, because, really, look where we have ended up" he said, glancing around the room.

Crossing her arms, Ororo glared at him, Logan was just digging himself deeper and deeper and it was not making her feel any better. "So what Logan? Going to take off again? Because quite frankly after you have acted I never want to see you again"

"But I want to see you" Logan almost whispered, but his gruff tone was still over powering his words "Ororo, I am so sorry to take off like that. For leaving you and the kid."

"Then why did you leave?" Ororo asked, her voice cold but it had a heart of feeling in the middle.

Logan paused, weighing his answer while taking another step forward. They were so close now, he could easily bend down and kiss her. Ororo wanted to zap him until he felt the same pain as her, or at least make him feel at least a level of her pain. But on some level Ororo just wanted Logan to hold her, to make her feel warm and safe, to make her believe that he really did care for her when she knew that was not true "Because I ruined your life" he said softly.

He reached out and tried to hold a part of her, but Ororo dodged him "You ruined it the day you left" Ororo whispered.

"I know" he said, not denying what she said "But I want to be here now. I want to stay with you not only for the kid, but for you"

Ororo curled her arms around herself, looking away from Logan, a tear spilling from her eye. "I don't think I can ever trust you again…..you left me, pregnant, to pick up the pieces that you left"

She looked up to see Logan looking at her, his face reflecting the tear rolling down her cheek. He used his thumb to wipe it away, holding his hand against her cheek. "I promise to never leave you again, 'Ro" he said gruffly, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"I don't know Logan…" Ororo whispered. "I don't think I can ever trust you again"

"Just give me one more chance" Logan begged, his gripped tightened a little around Ororo's cheek, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was welcomed as it showed physically how Logan felt "Please Ororo, I will never leave you again."

Ororo sighed. She wanted him and it would take time but she knew she wanted him to be part of this whole thing with her….maybe even more than a friend "You better not" Ororo said, a small sad smile appearing on her face "Because if you do, I'll zap your ass"

Logan smiled back at her, leaving his hand a second longer on her cheek before he moved away. Ororo wanted for him to hug her, so she could feel the warmth of another person. She wanted to forget this whole incident, forget she was pregnant, forget the others, forget the hate of the world. Ororo just wanted to spend the rest of her life in Logan's arms and to forget everything.

Ororo sighed "Look Logan-" she started.

Just at that moment Coe reentered the room. "I'm sorry, I'm pressed for time at the moment and we have to hurry this along. So if Ororo, could you please lie down so I can get this done" Ororo climbed back onto the table, Logan standing by her head and looking at Ororo. She smiled back, lifting her shirt to show her stomach once more to the doctor.

Cold blue gel was poured onto her stomach, then Coe placed the scanner on top of her uterus, moving it around as she did so. She finally found Ororo's womb and pointed to a small peanut shaped spot on the screen. "And there's your baby" Coe smiled, pressing a few buttons so they were able to get a closer view. Ororo felt Logan grab her hand and hold it tight, staring at the screen.

He wanted a child, Ororo thought to herself, he really did want a child. No man could fake emotion like that for something unwanted. Logan was telling the truth when he said he would stay. Ororo felt a million times better, her smile was real now, her feelings of happiness overwhelmed her and she shed a tear of joy, which she quickly wiped away.

This was it, the little spot on the screen was her baby. Logan's kid. Their child. Together they had done something so wonderful, she would get to see her baby grow in her then she would get to see it grow up, help it along its way, Logan would be there helping her with the baby. He would be there to give advice and to hold it tight when it cried, threatening to beat up whoever did crossed them.

She was feeling emotions she hadn't felt in days and they came back because of the Wolverine. "You okay, 'Ro" Logan asked her, still holding tightly onto her hand.

What did he mean by okay? Was she okay with being sick all the time? Was she okay with gaining weight? Was she okay with people whispering about her? Was she okay with doing extra work? Was she okay with having an accidental child? "Yeah, yeah I'm okay".

It was, because it was going to be worth it in the end. It was all for their child.

**AWWWWW, super sappy ending! As you can see, I didn't make them fall in love, but there are hints of a relationship between Ororo and Logan, but I'm not doing anything much now, mostly because I think it would ruin it if I made them fall in love right then. I didn't want Logan to come back after a million chapters because it would make me sad, and I know all of you would be sad, so after ditching her for almost week (some proper thinking time) he came back yey!**

**Dr Coe is based on one of my best friends, she always makes me feel better but the girl knows everything! Love you though!**

**I was so sad when I had to write the bit where Logan left and how Ororo was broken, but it had to be done! I'm sorry! But I had to do it (the voices in my head told me to) trust me the next chapter is happier!**

**You can get an ultra sound like this, I've done research, you don't have to strip down to your knickers if you chose not to, and I made up the hospital as this is a time in history were it is repeating it's self. Try and guess when! (hint hint, black and white history)**

**Review and make a little girl in Australia happy **


	7. It's a date

**Chapter 6**

**It's a date**

As Ororo drove back to the school she felt oddly lonely. For 5 days she had been fine by herself (okay, she wasn't fine, but she had survived), hell, for the last 6 years she was better off by herself. She enjoyed being alone. But now it felt oddly lonely for Logan not to be there with her after he had braved her wrath by coming back to her. Logan had to take the bike he 'borrowed' back to the school and Ororo had told him that she would meet him there.

There was so much to talk about with Logan. She _was_ pregnant with _his_ child, what wasn't there to talk about?

Ororo glanced down to her passenger seat, next to her wallet was a small black and white picture of her womb. Her first picture of her baby. Ororo smiled, it was really there, she really was pregnant. Granted it was a complete and utter accident, but Ororo was still happy with this accident.

It was the most beautiful, unpredicted, life changing accident that Ororo could ever think of. And the funny this was that she was fine with it. 6 years of all actions being thought of in weeks in advance Ororo welcomed this wonderful surprise in her life.

Ororo pulled up into the garage and locked her car, deciding at the last moment to put her baby's first picture into her wallet, it was a precious item now and she always wanted to keep it with her, until of course, she could put it in an appropriate place for it where she could see the little smudge, which happened to be the most important aspect in her life at the moment, every day.

She walked past Logan/Scott's bike on the way out. Logan had already made it back to the school, Ororo knew that he would be smoking a cigar, the wisps of smoke hanging over his head like a small cloud that would be wiped away by the wind. Ororo loved his scent of nature and smoke, it was calming and had quite an effect on her (exhibit A, Ororo thought with humour as she smiled to her stomach).

Ororo sighed, out of guilt and suspense rather than irritation. It was time to face the music. Ororo opened the side door of the garage, opening up to the fresh world. It was late evening so the children were all asleep, most likely after a few arguments that the younger children always had with the adults. Pretty soon she could have those sorts of arguments with her own child.

She walked to towards the bench at which she and Logan agreed to meet to discuss this unforseen circumstance after one night together. The school was dark, but by the light of the moon Ororo was able to see a man in the dark, the glowing embers of a cigar in his mouth. The wind blew from behind Ororo, making her hair ruffle in the wind and alerting Logan to her where abouts. "Hey" he said, taking the cigar out of his mouth and turning slightly to her direction.

"Hello" she said confidently, but she did not feel it at all, she felt like a teenager who was forced to have this awkward discussion with her long-time boyfriend. She took a seat on the bench behind Logan, watching him as he stared at the moon, probably thinking about his past.

Ororo wished for nothing more in the world to forget her past, and yet Logan wished to remember. He wanted to remember all the awful things he had done, all the cruel words, all the people he had killed. How he actually managed to get his claws.

Ororo's past was different. So very different. And it caused her a great amount of pain to recall it. But it made her into what she was now, she knew why she had her snow white hair and her mocha coloured skin. It wasn't exactly natural and a few crude people had asked if 'the curtains matched the drapes'. Logan never asked, he just accepted it was part of her, like she accepted it was part of Logan to not to recall his whole life.

"So" Logan said, taking one last puff of his cigar before stubbing it out on the bench and sitting next to her. He must have known it was a bad idea to smoke around her now, it was bad for the baby. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"We, I mean, I was going to keep it and raise it by myself before. But if you insist on helping-Logan?" she asked, he hummed in response "About 'that night'...I'm so sorry it turned out this way" she said, looking away from Logan's face.

"'Ro, that night was one of the best in my life" he smiled, using his fingers to lift Ororo's face up to his. He was so close, close enough to kiss. "Trust me, if this is the price then I would gladly do it again"

Ororo smiled, mimicking the same one he had on his face "Easy for you to say" she said, implying that while he was able to love a child that he was never meant to have, she was going to have to carry that said child around for the next 8 months and eventually give birth. It was all natural but still, Ororo shivered a bit to know the great amount of pain she was going to go through.

Logan chuckled, "Agreed. But I want to be part of this. With you." He let go of her chin, but his fingers never lost contact with her skin, Ororo felt the gentle strokes of his fingers against her cheek, so delicate and fine that they felt barely there, but they were still able to raise goose bumps on her skin.

"Really?" she whispered, it was said in a way a disbelieving person was finally shown the light. And Ororo was shown to the light with a map and compass. "But...it's with me" Ororo said in the same tone, swallowing back her tears.

"That's the only reason I'm staying now" he whispered, stroking under her eyes, "You're the only person I would ever want to have a kid with. I'm just sorry it had to happen like this"

"Probably wouldn't have happened any other way" she said softly. Logan stopped touching her face, and instead moved his hands to hers, covering them and keeping her warm. Ororo didn't notice but one of her hands and subconsciously moved up from her lap to her stomach. Now both of Logan's was covering them "It's going to be hard" she told him.

"I don't care"

"People will be upset."

"So what"

"You'll never be able to leave again"

"Never was"

"You'll have to help me all the way-" Ororo was cut off with Logan gripping her hand. Ororo realised that she was rambling.

Logan looked deep into her eyes, his wolfish grin playing on his face "Are you trying to make me stay. Or to go?" he asked in a joking way.

Ororo looked into his eyes, almost leaning towards him, but she stopped herself. Would they do this _together_? That was the question. And when she said _together_, she meant...as a couple. She knew it was stupid, there were so many risks if she wanted to continue down the path of her and Logan. She wanted so desperately to pick up where they left off a month ago. She wanted to feel his hands over her body, hear him say her name, she wanted to open her mouth, heart and her legs to him again.

But she suspected he didn't want that, that he was only staying here for the child. There was only one way to find out. Some part of her warned that once she sampled Logan she would want more, but she would cross that bridge when she got it it.

Ororo leaned towards Logan, making his hands move from her stomach to her hips while she moved her own hands to the back of his neck. She wanted him again, she wanted to lose herself to her feelings and forget the damn world had a problem with her.

Ororo pulled Logan towards her and kissed him, amazed that he was willing to comply to her demands. His soft warm lips sent shivers through her body, her mouth opened and she dipped her tongue into his mouth, their tongues duelling for power, she pushed him closer to her, their noses brushing together as they swapped sides. This was what she wanted, granted she already had it, but she wanted it again. She was addicted to him and the only way she could stop the shivers and temptations was to give into them.

His hands moved up her body, brushing past her stomach again. Wait, the reason she didn't want any of this, and of Logan, was right there. She only wanted to kiss Logan to make sure that he wanted her, and now Ororo felt selfish for trying such a trick on him. She stopped kissing Logan, surprising herself with her reaction. Logan growled in response and tried to kiss her again, but she pulled him off her. She remembered when they were in the opposite positions. Her wanting more but him stopping. Both had very good reason, neither better than the other.

"Logan we can't" she hoarsely said, seeing the sadness flicker in his eyes and disappear again. Logan would never let himself be so easily read "I want to" she said, punctuating this statement with kiss to his cheek and leaning back into his full vision again, lowering her hands as she did to put them on his chest. "So badly....but if it doesn't work out..."

She felt Logan exhale deeply, moving away from her but still holding onto her hands. "You're right"

"But I want to" she confirmed. "You have no idea"

"....so what do we do?" Logan asked.

"We take it slow" she answered, giving him a small sweet kiss on his lips. He did not ask for more and Ororo was glad, as she was pretty sure the combination of hormones, her own want to feel him, and the cigar smell were going to put herself over the edge soon enough.

Logan paused, watching her, before he finally answered. "If that's what you want".

"It is" she smiled.

oOOo

Ororo jumped down the last couple of stairs on a bright Saturday morning, she didn't smile per say but everyone who passed her knew she had an aura of happiness around her, the sun was bright and there were only a few clouds in the sky over near the main city of New York. Ororo's mood was once again affecting the weather, but this time no once complained.

Of course Ororo stayed up for a good hour that morning throwing her guts up, but she didn't care so much and looked as good as ever. She would not let a matter as little as that affect her overly happy mood.

Logan, with his super hearing, ran up the stairs to her room at 4 in the morning to ask her what was wrong, almost breaking the door in the process. She had told him and as soon as she explained it was just morning sickness Ororo grabbed the toilet bowl once more and threw up. She felt his hands on her back, rubbing small circles on it as he reassured her with kind words.

It was thoughtful and kind, and it was several hours later but she could still feel the small circles on her back that were traced by Logan, he had helped her up afterwards and hugged her while she wiped away her tears that always seemed to form after her small puking episodes. Ororo thought of his consideration and wondered how she ever expected to do this alone. Without him.

The kitchen was empty, just the way Ororo liked it. No early morning noise (from teacher and student alike) and she was free to take as long as she wanted collecting her breakfast, Ororo poured herself a glass of orange juice, noting that she could no longer have coffee (not that she ever drank it much) and went to go sit down.

"Oh she's happy again" Emma sighed from behind Ororo, no doubt talking to Warren, the only person who didn't want to kill her immediately when she started drawling about something. "Guess she made up with the Wolverine"

Ororo turned around and saw Emma standing with Warren, the latter was twitching his wings nervously, unsure if Ororo was as happy as Emma suspected her of being. "Good morning" Ororo answered them with a smile, which threw Warren off even more, but Emma just rolled her eyes in her own way. "What are you two doing up so early?"

"Flying lessons" Warren replied, Ororo glanced at Emma, expecting an answer to why Emma was up before noon on a weekend.

"Watching the flying lessons....its hilarious when someone messes up" Emma said with a cruel smile.

Ororo glared at her, Emma was a sweet person, but she did have certain moments when she was cruel. Warren gave her a tired look but then remembered something. "Ororo, that reminds me, Megan refuses to fly....I just don't know what to do"

"Just leave her" Ororo said, taking a sip of her juice but still glared at Emma "She's been through a tough time, she'll want to fly soon enough" there was a pause and Emma laughed cruelly, most likely at the memory of a child falling out of the sky and falling to their death but being saved just in time. Or Emma was just insane.

The sound of the elevator hissing open alerted Ororo to Logan, after she had told him she was fine after her period of morning sickness he had told her he was going to train in the Danger room. The students would eventually trickle down to the control room to watch him, then the early morning classes would start around 6am. "Morning" he grumbled to the room in general.

"Morning" Warren and Emma replied coldly, still thinking that Ororo was mad at him. After a moment's pause Emma looked up, staring at Ororo and Logan with slightly narrowed eyes, trying to sort out all the emotions that Ororo and Logan were hiding from everyone else.

Logan walked past Ororo who sat in the chair opposite Emma and Warren, Ororo felt his stare on her and she smirked, turning her head slightly and letting her hair fall over her face and shielding her gaze from Logan. Emma tutted from her spot at the table, Warren looked up from the paper "What are you tutting about?" he asked.

"Okay" she said, slamming down her coffee onto the table, eager to share gossip about something so huge, Ororo started to beg her mentally to stop talking but it was just such a huge piece of news that Ororo suspected that Emma was ignoring her "You're going to find out soon enough. It's not exactly something you can hide. Logan has gone and got Ororo-" she was stopped suddenly when Logan came over to her and yanked her up from the chair. "Hey!" she yelped. "I was joking I wasn't going to tell him"

"Tell me what?" Warren asked, Ororo felt her cheeks go red as Warren glanced at Ororo then back to Emma and Logan, the former yanking herself from Logan's grip on the scruff of her shirt.

"Nothing" she said glaring at Logan, but tossed Ororo a sympathetic smile "_Sorry to say this is the father of your child" _Ororo was told telepathically.

"_Actually, I'm glad" _Ororo sent back, crossing her arms _"At least he's sticking around"_

"_For now" _Emma thought, she turned to Logan and glared up at him and hissed "You'd better stay"

"I will, don't worry your pretty little head Frost"

Emma dusted off her shirt and threw Logan a filthy look "It wasn't mine I was thinking about" she said as she stormed off. Warren stared after her, Ororo could just see the question forming in his mind, but with one look at Logan growling with anger after Emma he decided not to ask.

"Okay! Okay! Ah'm up!" Rogue came stumbling into the room, pulling a boot on, she then became aware that there were other people in the room "What are ya doing!" she shrieked "It's Monday morning and none of ya are in class?"

"Monday?" Ororo asked, "Rogue what are you talking about? It's Saturday"

"But Remy told meh..." then it finally dawned on her, Rogue face filled with rage and she yelled at the top of her voice "GAMBIT!" she then stormed out of the room, through the other door Remy came in, small sniggers escaping.

Then he spotted the others and started to full out laugh, almost crying. Through his tears he managed to see the others "I can't believe she fell" he stopped and laughed again "Fell" again he stopped "For that!" he finally managed to say before he started to cackle again.

"That was cruel" Ororo snarled. "Remy I told you that you had to try and control yourself if you wanted to stay at the school"

"It's all for good fun Stormy" Remy smiled, wiping away a tear after his laughing fit, but his eyes still laughed at Rogue recent outburst "No harm will ever come to Rogue, can't say the same for Emma though"

Ororo took the juice away from her lips, Logan who moved an inch or two closer to her and was also glaring at Remy "Emma? What are you talking about?" Ororo asked but her question was answered when a high pitched scream from above sounded and Remy once again began to laugh with glee.

Logan rolled his eyes but Warren made to leave his seat, but Ororo just patted his shoulder but glared at Remy once more. "Remy, this is your last chance. You cannot disrupt the school like this because you want a little 'fun'" she said, adding in the finger quotes around the offensive (and debatable) word.

Remy glanced at Logan, "You're not going to say anything _Mon Ami_?" he asked

"Ororo's already said it all Gumbo" Logan said, Ororo gave him a small smile behind her glass which he returned.

But Remy's suggestive look was a turn off "What's with you two this morning, your awfully close" giving them a wiggle of his eyebrows

"Keep your nose out of other's business" Logan growled, but this still did not dim Remy's happy mood.

What did stop Gambit's happy mood was the arrival of Emma, who was drenched from head to toe with water, wearing an unforgiving scowl upon her face. "You are a dead man" she hissed, her hair dripping water and onto the clean kitchen floor, but this threat had the opposite effect on Remy and he just smirked at her while she fumed.

Ororo glanced at Logan, and she saw a small smile tug at his lips, but he frowned harder after that. Ororo had to fight the same feeling, seeing the ice queen finally brought down to the level of mere mortals was quite amusing but Ororo knew she was going to have a fight if she dared to laugh. "Sorry about that Emma" Remy apologised, but it was obvious that he did not mean it.

"You should be you little sneak!" Emma shrieked an octave too high for a normal person.

"Emma please calm down" Ororo said, standing up and holding onto Emma (almost having to hold her back), she turned back to the offensive party who had swapped a grin for a solemn frown "Remy, this is not funny. There is a difference between a joke and something juvenile I expect the younger children to do"

"Sorry Stormy"

"And stop calling me that" Ororo said, frowning. "Remy, no more practical jokes and Emma.....try not to kill Remy. We actually need him"

Emma threw down her arms in frustration, storming out the room and mimicking Ororo's last statement in a high pitched mocking voice. Piotr entered the kitchen throwing a cautious look behind him at Emma, but decided not to ask. Ororo sighed, it was defiantly going to become a tradition in the institute to want to stay in your room all day to avoid the early morning conflicts.

oOOo

Ororo was walking down the hall, barely paying attention to the outside world while she flicked through her files in her folded arms "Ororo" Rogue cried out, but Ororo did not hear her and kept walking, but Rogue grabbed her arm, almost sending the files onto the floor "Ya went to the doctor?" she asked.

Ororo turned around and answered the white streaked girl "Yes I did. And Logan turned up out of the blue while I was there"

Rogue stopped in the middle of the hall, but was still holding onto Ororo arm, she made a painful face "Oooo! What did he do? Did he get upset? Tell me!" she begged.

It was a rare sight to see Rogue beg, usually if she wanted to know something bad enough she would just use her power to figure it out. Of course that wasn't always the case, she had only recently employed this power after she was able to control it as she felt that she could chose to use her power now when she wanted to, and if she wanted to know something, then so help her. She was going to find out.

Ororo suspected the only reason that Rogue didn't try this method on her was that Ororo was pregnant and Rogue did not want to risk anything with the child. "Everything turned out fine Rogue. It's under control"

"Fantastic" she grinned, letting go of Ororo's arm, Ororo shuffled her hands to try and fit all the files that had moved back into their rightful place in her arms "By the way, Ah wanted to ask ya if you need me to order some pre-natal vitamins?"

One of the files fell another inch but Ororo was not paying attention to it, she was trying to figure out what Rogue had just told her. Pre-natal vitamins. She never thought of something like that, Ororo was more focused on the fact that her baby's father did not want it. But now that was sorted, Ororo guessed that she actually had to start caring for the person growing inside of her.

The picture of her child had been moved from her wallet to a slit in the mirror, it was the first thing she saw when she looked in her bathroom that morning, and whenever she saw that black and white picture Ororo felt warmer, lighter in a sense. After she had thrown up for that dreadful hour, and after Logan had left her, she had washed her hands and her mouth out. Wondering again if this was what she wanted.

But the second she saw that small shape upon a black background that was her womb, she knew that this small thing, her child, was what she wanted. And if taking vitamins, throwing up to all hours and gaining weight meant that she could have her dream. It was worth it. "No, I have not" Ororo answered "Could you perhaps do that for me later?"

"Ya know it" Rogue winked, Ororo smiled and used her knee to bring up the single file that had slipped back up to its rightful place with the rest. "Ya should also start reading up about the first trimester in pregnancies. Ah heard some of them can be pretty gruesome, but perhaps not as bad as the b-" upon seeing the shocked look on Ororo's face she stopped talking immediately.

"Don't remind me" Ororo grumbled, walking away with files in hand. Reminding Ororo that she was going to endure the most horrific pain known to _wo_man was going to happen to her in less than 9 months made Ororo just a little mad at Logan.

Ororo suspected she was having a minor mood swing, as at that moment, all happy thoughts she had about Logan had disappeared and now she just wanted to hurt him that little bit. Like before this whole mess started, his pain brought her a small amount of happiness, and Ororo wanted to try that method again.

Ororo walked down the hall muttering about Logan when she suddenly found herself facing the person she was talking about. "Uh, Logan!" she said with a forced smile, the file slipping another inch but she used her spare finger to try and push it back up with the rest. "I just wanted to see you"

"Really?" he said smirking "Because I just heard you mutter about me, my stupid breaking condoms and how you were going to kill me"

"Oh...about that" Ororo said, trying to recover and telling herself mentally to never talk out loud about Logan. Because he could hear everything and usually the stuff she muttered about him wasn't very nice at the moment.

"I'm kidding 'Ro" he said "Look, I wanted to ask if you were busy tonight"

Suspicion swept over and she narrowed her eyes, the mood swings back again. She was rarely asked out and to hear someone asking her if she was busy was an invitation for them to unload a large amount of unfinished work on her "Why?"

"Because" he hissed, looking away from Ororo and turning to look around in the hall but then looked back at Ororo "You said we should take it slow. And I want to hold you up to that"

"So you're asking me out?" Ororo guessed.

"Yeah" he said gruffly, but Ororo could see shyness creep over his eyes, and disappear just as quickly. "I'll take you out at 8, okay?" he said, dismissing her and starting to walk away.

"Hang on" Ororo said, holding out her hand and almost dropping her files all over the floor "I didn't say yes"

"You didn't say no" Logan said just as quickly.

"True" Ororo mused, did she really want to go out with the Wolverine? Other than the fact that she was pregnant with his child she would have said no, hoping that he was joking because then she wouldn't have to leave the safety of the mansion. But she did say she wanted a relationship with Logan, and Ororo so badly wanted one with him. "So I'll see you at the door"

Logan gave her a wolfish grin, showing his teeth. "Don't stand me up" he joked, turning around and walking down to the elevator that would take him to his waiting combat class.

"Wouldn't dream of it" she whispered, knowing that Logan could hear her.

oOOo

Turning in the mirror Ororo gazed at herself, holding up just another dress against her body. She blew her white bangs off her face before disregarding it onto the already crowded bed. Ororo had already tried on all the nice clothes she had, but she soon found that while they were all expensive, she had nothing suitable for a date. Anything she did have for a date was years old and although Ororo tried she could not find them, she suspected that Emma or Kitty may have 'borrowed' them.

Ororo looked away from the large amount of dresses and skirts on her bed and went back to looking at her reflection. Ororo found so many things wrong with it, and she rarely looked at her reflection.

Her hair was her one regret. Ororo always remembered her mother's white hair, her beautiful mother that she never had the chance to properly know before she was killed along with her father. Her mother, her grandmother, and her great grandmother, all the way back to her origins, all had the white hair and their blue eyes, along with their beautiful dark skin. They had all been witch-priestesses in African tribes and very powerful, even without Mutant powers like Ororo.

Of course she had made peace with her parent's death, but Ororo always felt upset that they had to die, and with their death she was left alone in the world and with claustrophobia from being trapped under rubble for 3 days after the collapse of the building she was staying in with her parents.

Ororo drew her fingers through her hair, feeling the ends with her finger tips. She thought about dying her hair so many times over the years, when she was new to the city. People always stared at the African woman with the stark white hair. Unlike her tribe in Africa, it was distinct, but not in a good way. It made her different, made her an outcast, she did not belong in this world. But her friends always made her rethink about buying that bottle of dye.

Xavier had called her special because of her hair. Scott said that she wouldn't be the same without it. Jean said it made her more original. And Logan, he simply said he loved her hair. Ororo smiled, her hair was defiantly one of a kind. Her eyes drifted down to her stomach, Ororo wondered if her child would have white hair like her.

It was still a mystery, and Ororo would not find the answer till the very end.

Sighing, Ororo turned back to her closet, moving the coat hangers and glancing down the rows upon rows of clothes. Finding nothing. Growling in frustration Ororo moved the last dress she had aside and slapping her hands down, but then she noticed a box from an expensive store in New York City.

Bending down she picked it up, pulling off the top and removing the tissue paper. She gasped at what she found, inside was a beautiful white dress. Ororo gazed at it as she lifted it out, standing up and holding it against her body. She remembered it, years ago, before Jean had died and before Logan ever came to the school.

Jean and Ororo had gone shopping when they came upon the store, Jean had begged to go inside and Ororo reluctantly agreed, but secretly she wanted to go inside to gaze upon the dresses she would never find the time to wear. Ororo only had practical clothes that she used for work and then she had the occasional dress for the rare date or high society function, but as she had mentioned, they were rare.

The dresses in the store were beautiful, so elegant and stylish. Jean tried on many dresses, the ones that she would soon wear on dates with Scott. Ororo praised them all but found nothing herself. Jean paid for her items and was prepared to leave when she stopped, making Ororo crash into her. "What is it Jean?" Ororo asked.

Jean did not say a word, but just held out a white dress. The dress. She pulled it up against Ororo and grinned "This is perfect for you" Ororo just raised her eyebrow, questioning her "Just try it on?" Jean begged.

Ororo sighed, taking the dress and feeling the soft fabric. "If I try it on will you give it a rest?" Jean smiled and nodded, pushing her towards a dressing room. Ororo knew that she would never find a use for the dress but she would try it on for Jean (and for herself. Just to prove to herself that she did not look good in it). When she stepped out of the dressing room and saw Jean's face look her up and down in approval Ororo finally turned to her mirror and looked at herself.

The dress was a beautiful white, strapless and long, hugging all her curves and shimmering in the false lights of the store and with her white hair, skin and eyes, Ororo looked young and carefree, and very beautiful. "You look beautiful" Jean said in awe hugging her hands to her chest and coming to stand next to Ororo, "You must buy it" she said, pushing Ororo's hair out of her face and behind her ear, so Ororo could see her face.

Glancing down, Ororo saw the price tag and feeling the smile slip off her face "It's so expensive Jean. I can't afford it" she said sadly, moving off back to the dressing room.

"You can Ororo" Jean said, dragging her back to the mirror and holding her in place, she put her head on Ororo's shoulder and forced her to look at herself. "Just do it. You never know when you might need it"

In the present time Ororo came out of her small day dream, smiling she picked up the dress and laid it gently on the bed on top of the other dresses. It looked like Jean was right, although she was 7 years late, Ororo was finally ready to wear her dress.

oOOo

When Ororo finally walked down the main steps she amazed to find Megan watching her from the sitting area outside her office, she was sitting next to Rogue who was filling out medical files.

Megan was wearing her pyjamas, holes made so that her wings would stick out in the back, her pink hair tied in two braids while Rogue was wearing her clothes from work. Megan was reading _War and Peace _from an old book. Which was strange as Ororo knew their copy of the book was brand new (due to a temper tantrum by thrown by Tabitha) and Megan never came with anything.

"Ororo!" Rogue cried out, putting her files on the table, Megan put her book on the table and followed suit. "Where are ya heading out? On a date?" she asked slyly.

"Yes" Ororo said walking away from Rogue's surprised look and Megan's accusing one. She dodged walked down the hallway to the front door, thanking the Goddess that the children were watching a movie that they couldn't take their eyes off and that the hall way was dark.

But no movie could ever stop Emma from listening in, she told the kids to keep watching and came out to look what was going on. She saw Ororo in a dress and read the last thoughts of those in the conversation, "Ororo's got a date" she sang. "Who's it with?" she asked. But Ororo still did not speak and just rolled her eyes at her. "Oh tell me or I'll just die" Emma whined.

Megan smirked at her, an impish grin playing across her face "You say it but you don't mean it" Emma glared at the child but Rogue moved in front of her in a protecting manner.

Rolling her eyes again Ororo opened the door, "Look, I'm going out, I won't be back until after the children have gone to bed so could you take care of that" she went to close the door.

"WHAT?" Rogue and Emma said at the same time.

"Goodbye" she waved, closing the door. She turned around to come face to face with her date. "Hello" she smiled.

"Hey there darlin" Logan greeted, kissing the top of her head. "You look great" he said against her hair.

Ororo shrugged and took his hand, leading him down to the car that was already parked outside of the mansion. "Well thank you" she smiled, "Don't get used to it though....I won't be able to fit into a dress like this soon"

Logan stopped her walking away from him, holding onto her arm and dragging her back to him, she was surprised at first and tried to protest, but was stopped when he pulled her into a warm hug. "I'm happy that you're going to keep the kid" he mumbled into her hair, pulling her in closer.

"Me too" she told him. They stayed like that for just a moment before they pulled away simultaneously, "Come on, I'm kind of hungry for once" she told him, opening the passenger side door. He chuckled and got in on the driver's side. It was in the wrong order, Ororo thought. It was meant to be date then accidental pregnancy. But either way she was still going to go out with Logan.

**So this chapter was totally random but I wanted to show that Ororo and Logan are trying to make it work ****and I was kind of watching 'Xmen-Last Stand' when I wrote the dress part. (Really upset that Jean had to die****...and Scott****...and Xavier****.....actually I never have seen the last bit where Xavier comes back into his brother's body.....might try to work that in but it might get too complicated, so tell me what you think) **

**The bit about Gambit tricking Rogue is something I played on my sister one time, I was doing my hair in the bathroom pretty early on a Sunday morning when she came in asking what I was doing, and I pretended that we were late for school so then she goes and panics. It was hilarious. Of course I had to hide in my room until she calmed down.**

**On a side note, **_**I'm a quitter**_** write faster! Can't wait for your next chapter for '**_**The Trouble with Weather'**_** must know what happens next! It's killing me!**

**Anyway, I was actually going to show them on a date but I though a) it would be really boring since we already know all their history and b) never being on a date myself with a 30 year old man, I would have no idea what they would talk about (I'm 16 btw) I thought you guys would appreciate a little Ororo/Jean moment.**

**Tell me if you want to see a date or if you want me to add in some other ROLO moment (or any other couple for that matter) or if you want to see some more Emma bashing (the joys of using Megan and Remy ****)**

**Review and make a little girl in Australia happy **


	8. Control

**Chapter 7**

**Control**

Just over a week ago Logan was gone, Ororo was pregnant and each of their worlds had changed dramatically. Out of these three pasts, only one had changed. And it wasn't the first or last option. Logan, on a boring Monday morning, was sitting next to Ororo, him eating his breakfast and chatting to Remy while Ororo ate her own food (which happened to be oatmeal, the only food she could manage to keep down). A normal opening, a normal day, a normal Ororo, right?

Wrong.

Ororo reached forward to grab her cup of juice, but knocked it over by accident when her thin fingers slipped on the condensed glass. The juice spilled onto the wooden table, falling over the side and onto the floor. Warren (who happened to be near her) backed away from the liquid to avoid spilling it onto himself. "Oh no" he cried out, as it spilled around his foot.

Although it was a simple accident (the term 'don't cry over spilt milk' came to mind) Ororo started to weep. Logan, his conversation with Remy forgotten, turned to Ororo and put his hands around her. Ororo knew it was only the hormones that made her act like this and she felt stupid for everyone to stop their activities to see why the Weather Witch was crying.

Her tears fell from her eyes, Ororo wished for them to stop but they kept falling slowly, Ororo knew they were for something so stupid but it was just such a big thing! She spilt her juice, just another thing going wrong with her life.

Logan held her close and started to rub her shoulders, Ororo stopped crying after a moment "I just don't know why" she told him softly.

"It's just for now, you'll get over it soon" he told her, releasing her from his grip. Ororo wiped her nose with a napkin then started breakfast again, but was interrupted by Bobby.

"Whoa!" he said, making the teachers (and Megan...at the table once more) turn to him, he pointed a finger at Logan but saw Logan's gaze and lowered his finger to Ororo. "What was that?" he asked.

Ororo growled. Bobby was such an idiot sometimes, Ororo noted, he over looked everything and only paid attention at the worst possible moments. He was totally obsessed with having a 'normal' life and often acted like a teenager, which often irritated most of the X men to the point of yelling at him to grow up.

So what if she cried at breakfast, it wasn't his problem. "What?" she snapped.

Sensing danger Bobby lowered his hand. But Remy, loving the danger of anything, started up his argument for him. "I think what my dear _ami_ means, is that finally you are getting some and yet you still cry over juice"

"Excuse me?" Ororo accused. Confusion taking over her anger, she felt her face pale with dread. "How did you know?" she whispered to him.

"Honey, the whole staff knows" Rogue said, taking a sip from her coffee.

"And Megan" Bobby whispered, but hissed when Rogue hit him in the shins. Again.

Ororo ignored him and looked around the table, looking each person in the eye before they turned away from her gaze. "First of all, that is my personal business, and second how did you know that?"

"Emma" Bobby told her.

Logan and Ororo snapped their heads to her, while Emma looked away from them. Sitting at the opposite end of the table, marking homework, she was determined not to meet their eyes. Finally she looked at them "Okay I told them!" she told them "But I'm so sorry! It just slipped out! And then I found out Rogue knew-"

Remy glared at her over his folded hands "You didn't tell me"

"I don't like you" she retorted.

Remy shrugged, "Fair enough"

Ororo shook her head, they knew. They all knew, and they didn't let on. At all?

Emma getting bored of the conversation started to make a dangerous journey with what she said next. "And I know something else" she sang, glancing at Ororo and winking. Logan started to get up from his seat, but Emma glared at him from her own "Oooo, whatcha gonna do" she asked, sarcasm dripping off her tongue "Going to manhandle me again? Cause let me tell you, the only person who enjoys it is the woman you're screwing"

The table voiced pain as Logan snarled. Rogue shoved Megan off to join Sofia and Laurie, Ororo was about to yell at Emma for being so rude but a sudden familiar sensation took over her again and she ran from the room, hand over mouth.

Running from the room, Ororo heard everyone questioning Emma before Ororo left, Ororo shook her head. This was her secret, her and Logan's secret. And Emma was going to spoil it all. She opened the stall to the toilet and threw up right there, almost missing the bowl but was able to grip it just in time. Ororo heaved, her breakfast coming back up.

Ororo did well to hide her pregnancy from the others, as she knew they would get suspicious after awhile, and so far she did well. She almost had her morning/evening sickness down to a schedule. But there were the odd occasions where she had to make an excuse to run to the bathroom. This was one of those times.

On some level Ororo felt sorry for Emma. She had many secrets to keep, not her own but of others, and sometimes she accidently let it slip. For example she was having a heated argument with Kitty and she told Kitty (and half the room at that) that Kitty was in love with Peter when she was dating Bobby at the time and she should stop leading Bobby on. It did not end well for anyone.

And then a year to forgive her. Kitty was mortified and her relationship with Bobby did not end on the right foot.

Ororo knew the risks of having a telepath in the school, she had lived with Xavier for many years before Emma, but Emma was different. She liked to poke around in minds a little too often, and uncovered more than she should ever know. And her temper made her lose control of all the secrets she had gathered and she blurted them out.

But then Emma was an awful gossip, but she knew the difference in a secret that is best left to be unsaid, and a piece of juicy gossip. Ororo knew that her secret was, well, a secret. But Emma was mad.

She was mad at Ororo for letting Remy stay. She was mad at Logan for 'manhandling' her before when she almost let it slip the first time. Ororo didn't really blame her if she told everyone.

Everyone had to know Ororo's business, it seemed, but their sources were wrong. She had not slept (a second time) with the Wolverine yet, yes they were dating, but just because they were didn't meant that Ororo was going to jump his bones. Granted she had already slept with Logan, but it didn't mean she was going to do it so soon.

But her hormones begged, craved, yearned for sex with the Wolverine, she ignored them. With a great amount of difficulty. Of course throwing up, feeling bloated and being pregnant didn't exactly help her feel sexy or lustful.

Ororo got up from her familiar place on the floor and flushed the toilet, going through her ritual of washing hands, pulling back hair and leaving the bathroom looking confident instead of just sick. The dining hall had cleared out and students were now running back upstairs to wake up roommates or to collect books they had forgotten for class.

She walked in and saw a fight starting between the majority of the teachers. Emma was arguing with Logan, Remy had apparently flirted with Rogue but Bobby had gotten upset and defended her, which got Rogue got upset about as she could defend herself and Remy was just a slimy swamp rat. Ororo stormed up to them, yanking Logan off Emma "Stop it! All of you!" she cried, making them all turn and stare at her.

"What the hell has got you?" Bobby asked. Emma opened her mouth to answer, but Rogue slapped her hand over Emma's mouth, silencing her.

Ororo glanced at all of them in turn. "Nothing" she snarled, "Just stop arguing like children and get to work" she shoved Logan away and stomped to her class room, if she had looked out the window she would have noticed a thunder cloud or two in the distance that wasn't there before. She opened the class room door and the teens inside feel into silence, noticing her bad mood.

She didn't care though and walked up to the board, snapping it down and grabbing her chalk and scribbling the day's lesson onto it. She gritted her teeth in anger, it was all the hormones, she muttered over and over, it was all the hormones.

oOOo

For once Ororo was having a relaxing time reading her book out in the yard, watching the kids during their lunch period. It had been so long, she had almost forgotten what the pleasure was of having a good book to read was like, she had stopped working, knowing she would regret it later when she had a mountain of papers to work on, but right now, she didn't care.

It was a calm sunny day, the older students were lying on the ground, either talking or reading, while the younger ones were playing a girls verse boys game in soccer. Of course the girls were all scared of the boys hitting them in the head with a ball, so shields and fire balls were thrown every now and again.

"Sam!" Ororo yelled at the young boy, who had just catapulted himself across the playing field and knocked over half the girls there. "Don't use your powers while playing games!"

"Sorry Miss!" he yelled back, helping one of the girls up. Ororo smiled to herself and went back to reading her book.

Ororo was so caught up in the story she didn't notice someone sitting down next to her. "Hey darlin" a gruff voice said to her, Ororo smiled to herself.

"Hello Logan" she said without looking up from her book, turning the to the next page but feeling his eyes on her, the feeling of him moving closer to her and the feeling of her hormones taking over and making her see red. "And don't try anything. There are children about" she commanded, thunder rumbled in the background and the kids started to yell about rain.

"Fine fine" he said, moving back. Ororo pulled back the rain and kept reading her book, but she couldn't keep her mind on the words on the page, instead she was distracted by the hot, burly man next to her. Logan pulled back her book to look at the front of the book, scoffing at the title, "_Pride and Prejudice?" _he asked.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked, her voice watery, she put the book down on her lap and rubbed her eye. Ororo felt Logan move closer and try to hold her, she pushed him away, but she wanted him to hold her, but Ororo didn't want the kids to suspect that something is going on with their teachers.

It started to rain a little bit, the hormonal effect she had on the weather, the kids yelling that they were getting wet, Ororo was sitting under a tree and was barely watching the children and was more focused on not full out crying like before. Logan moved in front of her, "'Ro, I was joking"

Ororo sniffed, trying to stop the rain with her power but just made it rain harder, "I'm s-s-sorry" she stuttered "I can't m-make it stop" she tried looking in her jacket pocket for a tissue, she wiped her eyes with it and tried to make it stop raining at the same time. "I'm fine" she sniffed.

"It's okay 'Ro" he told her, holding her close "You know it's just the baby"

"Yeah" she said, wiping away the last tear and stopping the downpour to just a drizzle of rain. She blew her nose and put the tissue back into her pocket to throw it out later. "Hey, are we still on for tomorrow, or do you really want to go out with a hormonal pregnant woman?" she asked.

Logan laughed "You know I do" he told her, hugging her a little bit. "It's my kid. It's the least I could do to make you smile" Ororo didn't know it, but the sun was brighter all day after Logan told her that.

oOOo

"Ya know" Rogue told Ororo as she walked past her in the Rec Room, it was late night and Ororo, tired of sitting in her office alone, had decided to work in the empty room which still had the smells and feels of children still in it even though they all had left for bed long ago "The other's suspect somethin' else is up" Rogue finished.

Ororo sighed, she expected as much. She never was that rude, even before that time of the month. And with the dramatic change of her crying over a spill to her yelling at her friends, she wondered why they hadn't tried to ask her about it. "I know" she told Rogue. "What are you doing up so late any way?"

"Ah was looking for Megan. Ah just think she went roamin' around the school and she'll be back in bed in an hour" Rogue went and sat next to Ororo on the sofa, Ororo looked at her, fearing nothing. "And don't try and change the subject. When are ya goin' to tell everyone about the fact yar pregnant?"

"I don't know...how would you tell them?" Ororo asked.

Rogue, taken back by the question, answered her still "Just tell them next time they ask 'what's up' Ah mean, their reactions can't be as bad as-" she faltered at Ororo glare. Rogue coughed harshly "Ya can't keep it secret for long you know. It ain't exactly a secret ya can hide"

Ororo gulped, looking down at her stomach before turning back to Rogue "How long do I have before I start showing?" she asked.

"You're at a month and a half, most start showin' at 4 months..." she paused "Ya ain't waiting 2 and a half months to tell them" she pointed out "Ya're telling them next time when they ask, and if ya don't Ah will, even if ya fire me"

"I wouldn't fire you" Ororo gasped "But could you do me a favour and make sure Emma doesn't try to tell everyone before I'm ready?"

Rogue smiled "Sure. Can I absorb her?" she said, wiggling her gloved hand.

"No"

The white striped doctor pouted "I never get to absorb Emma" she mumbled as she stood up.

Ororo laughed as Rogue left, she and Emma never really got off on the right foot. They had their moments of friendship but it was always a struggle to keep them from killing each other.

Rogue was down to earth, good natured and kind, a nice warm person to have around and like the bigger sister everyone wanted. While Emma was sarcastic, cold but still gentle, but not someone you wanted around all the time.

For Rogue to absorb Emma, would mean that Emma's personality would sit around in Rogue's mind for a few hours, then gradually sit in the back of her mind. But Emma would always have a part of herself in Rogue's mind. And Ororo did not want to taint the down to earth girl, the girl who got her out of bed after Ororo's depression period, to be overcome with the need to gossip from Emma's personality.

No, while Logan was her world at the moment. And this baby was her everything, Rogue was her rock. The little voice that told Ororo what she should do, not by pushing and prodding (unless it called for it) but reminding her what she had to do for the best of the school, the team, or just for Ororo.

Most of the time Rogue had to force Ororo to think of herself. To remind Ororo that unlike what the world was telling her, she was only human. She needed rest, food and love just like the strongest of men. And even now, after Ororo has been through so much, she still needs to be told that she needs to rest. If not for her, then for her child.

The paper work could wait until morning, Ororo finally gathered. She shuffled the papers into one pile and placed them into her arms and started to make her accent up the stairs to her room to sleep. Rogue really was her rock.

oOOo

The next day started as normal. Waking up, seeing the children into the dining hall, making breakfast (a duty that had been taken from her by Logan, who until recently, made breakfast for the younger children since she could not stand the sight of raw runny eggs, and could not be in the same area as milk or she was forced to through up) then breakfast with the other teachers.

Ororo was calm, she told herself over and over again, she was calm, cool, collected and she was not going to cry over anything today. And she would defiantly not get mad at everyone for no reason. She arrived at breakfast after everyone had already left for their classes, and the younger children where the only ones left in the dining hall.

She shrugged and dug into her oatmeal whilst reading a printed email from Hank, who was telling her of recent bills being lobbied in the white house. "Good morning Storm" a quiet voice greeted her, but startled her all the same. Ororo turned around and saw Megan watching her with her big dark eyes, as though she was assessing every movement that Ororo made. "I hope that you are well"

"I am, thank you. Is there something that you want?"

Megan paused, her wings twitching. Megan was wearing some new clothes, she had come with few clothes, and most were unfit for a warm climate in Winchester, so with money the school loaned her, Rogue had taken her to the mall to find and buy her and Jason some new clothes. Today she wore a pink shirt and jeans, holes made in the back for her wings which reminded Ororo of the same holes that Warren had in the back of his shirts. "No thank you...I was wondering if I could have some breakfast though?"

Her innocence was sweet, but her eyes held knowledge, far too much knowledge for a girl of 7. Ororo didn't know why, but she didn't trust Megan, she knew it was stupid but she felt like Megan was hiding something. Something big. "Sure" Ororo smiled all the same and stood, guiding Megan to the kitchen.

"I would do it myself" she told Ororo, looking forward and only focused on her path "But I'm not allowed to use knives"

"Did your mother tell you that" Ororo asked, placing her empty bowl in the sink, ready to wash up when she was finished making breakfast for Megan.

Megan looked her straight in the eye, but a flicker of hatred crossed them "No" she coldly said. Ororo reached out for some fruit in the fridge and started to cut it up. From the little knowledge she had of the girl, Megan would only eat fruit in the morning, a salad for lunch and would only eat dinner if it did not have bread accompanied by it. She was a healthy and picky eater, Ororo concluded and quite predictable.

They were silent while Ororo chopped up various fruits, the silence was only broken when Rogue entered the kitchen. She spotted Megan and Ororo immediately noticed the difference in Megan. Her cold eyes, straight posture, angry smile were gone and instead she looked like a happy child. Rogue ran over to her and hugged her. "Morning Pixie" Rogue greeted her.

"Hi Rogue" she said while hugging Rogue.

"Pixie?" Ororo questioned Rogue, chopping an apple. "Isn't she a little young for code names?"

Megan smiled at her "It's a nick name, silly!" she smiled. "Because of my wings and I'm really short"

"And she's a trickster like a pixie" Rogue laughed, leaning over and putting the fruit into a bowl for Megan while Ororo started to clean up the mess of juices. Rogue pulled fingers through Megan pink hair, trying to separate the knots "It's nothing Storm"

Ororo hummed in response, putting the knife, empty oatmeal bowl and cutting board into the dish washer. "I know" Ororo agreed after a moment.

Suddenly the familiar smell of cigar smoke and nature hit her nose. It was Logan, after a morning session of the danger room, obviously sweaty and accomplished. And so deliciously yummy so early in the morning, Ororo felt a need, a scratch that needed to be taken care off. Immediately. "I will see you later" Ororo told them both, almost running out of the kitchen.

Logan was walking just outside of the kitchen, probably intending to walk inside a get himself some breakfast. But Ororo had other plans for his mouth. The second she saw him, she walked up to him. Confident and in charge, and when she was in charge, she would get what she wanted the second she could see it. "Hey 'Ro" Logan greeted her, but was stopped from further words when she put her mouth over his.

She tugged on his hair, her tongue begging, no, demanding entrance to his mouth. She knew it was inappropriate to be kissing this man in the middle of the hall way on a Tuesday morning. But she didn't care. She wanted him to much. She started to push him to broom closet, she didn't care if it was dark and dirty. She just wanted him. Now.

Suddenly she felt her wrists being held in an iron grip and the mouth she was so enjoying being pulled from her. She whimpered in protest, "Ororo. You got to control this" Logan whispered, looking her right in the eyes "You can't let your emotions take over all the time"

"Who said it was the hormones?" she snapped. But she knew he was right, she accounted for all the angry, happy and sad hormones. But never the ones that made her horny for the father of her unborn child. She shook her head as he released her hands, "Okay fine." She muttered, "I'll control them better"

"You're allowed moments of weakness, you know" he told her, rubbing his thumb over her cheek.

"I know" she agreed, so she was allowed to have weaknesses, it was good to know that Logan was there in case she fell. She still felt like she wanted him, but she ignored it, in the favour of teasing Logan, like she used to.

"You want to have sex any way?" she asked. Ororo saw Logan surprised look at how forward she was being, but she just gave a throaty laugh. "I'm kidding Logan" she told him, seeing him relax slightly

"Well not really" she whispered, then she smirked. She wanted to feel him above her, she wanted it so badly to feel them connect again. But she had a life, a job to get back to. At least she could take him tonight if she so wanted to.

oOOo

Dinner that night was an affair. Rogue was in charge of making the meal and without her rock, Ororo was jittery. Emma threw her glances, but she never muttered a word and Logan was holding her hand under the table, rubbing circles into the back of her hand with his thumb. A calming effect that he had discovered after her throwing up period in the bathroom.

Peter was texting Kitty on his phone while Warren was talking to Ororo about his children in Natural Science wanting to go on a botanical field trip. "I think it would be a really good idea for the biology students to really examine the plants" he concluded.

"I agree Warren" she nodded, reaching for her water "But how many teachers will you need?"

"Myself and another" he told her "But if you can't spare another-"

Ororo interrupted him "I'll see what I can do" Warren smiled warmly and went back to eating his meal. Because of his large wings, Warren was always forced to sit at the head of the table, seeing as he could let his wings have more room that way and still not hit someone over the head if he turned his body.

He really is an Angel. Ororo thought, the one person who she always knew was thinking of others before himself.

Ororo felt something, a tug, an involuntary need to leave the room. She swallowed, she had already had her routine of throwing up, it was just a reaction, it would leave her soon. "Evening y'all" Rogue greeted the table in general as she sat down, her usual pink haired side kick next to her. Ororo finally got over that Megan was rarely going to leave Rogue's side, unless ordered, and Megan would not leave happily.

"Good evening" they replied at random times.

Rogue walked around the table, past Ororo and Warren and to the seat across from Ororo. The aroma of her food hit Ororo's nose like a thunder bolt, immediately Ororo felt sick to her stomach, she lurched from the table and ran from the room, tripping over her own feet on the way. She ran to the nearest bathroom, and threw up into the clean white bowl.

Tears fell down her face, she was so sick of this! "Please, my child, could you give me a rest?" she begged her unborn child, holding her stomach.

The child's answer to this question was expected, as she threw up into the bowl, Ororo cried. It took longer this time to finish up, seeing as she actually ate food today, and when she finally cleaned herself up and entered the dining hall once more (Rogue already shoving Megan on to somewhere else), she knew she had some questions to answer.

"Okay, I'm asking you only one more time" Bobby started, pointing an accusing finger at her "What is with you? You can't still be sick?"

Ororo clamped her mouth shut. This was the moment that would change the entire team's future forever. She glanced over to Rogue who nodded her on, a stern look on her face, as though she was a mother telling her daughter to admit the truth to her father. Ororo inhaled deeply, "Okay" she finally whispered "I'm going to tell you something big. But you have to promise not to make a big deal of it"

"Just tell us 'Ro" Warren told her. Ororo was oddly reminded of this exact conversation with Logan, only a few weeks prior, except, these people didn't matter as much. If they didn't like it, they could leave.

"I'm pregnant"

The ones who didn't know the secret all stared at her in complete and utter surprise, Bobby dropped his fork onto the plate, his mouth open. Emma next to him shoved his jaw to join the rest of his teeth, "Careful, you might catch a fly with your mouth open like that"

"You aren't surprised?" Peter asked her, glancing at Emma.

Emma glared at him "I'm a mind reader, duh...and don't tell Kitty!" she yelped, diving for the phone before Peter could even text a letter. "You know Ororo would want to tell her herself...plus I can't wait to see her face"

Remy clucked his tongue "You do realise that I was right then?" he told the table in general, but no one bothered to listen to him. "About her being sick"

"Who's the father?" Warren asked. Ororo felt her eyes glance at Logan before looking back to the others. But they caught her movement. "Logan" Warren stated for her.

"Yes" she confirmed. "Look, I know this is a big surprise for all of you-"

"You got that fucking right!" Bobby almost yelled, but stopped himself just over a loud whisper.

"But I've decided to keep the child. I can't promise that this won't interfere with missions, because it will, but trust me when I say that I will fight as long as I can. This child is not going to determine the rest of my life in the way you all expect. It will just be another part of my life, a major part, mind you, but a part of my life all the same"'

"But how will this work?" Peter asked, putting his phone back into his pocket. "You can't exactly keep being an X-man when you are in your third trimester" he saw the rest of the team looking at him "Yeah, that's right. I know stuff" he told them.

Rogue spoke for Ororo this time, telling the team her knowledge which was more in detail than what Ororo could give them "Storm will be able to X-men work as much as she wants tah until Ah tell her it is no longer safe for her, her baby or the team, in which she is gonna tah have tah stop working and stay back with the school. She ain't allowed to go fight with us after the 2nd trimester but she can come with us right up to the 8th month" she sat back in her chair, overwhelmed with the large information she just gave out.

After a pause Peter turned to Logan "What about you?"

"What about me?" came Logan's reply.

"What are you going to do about the baby?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" he snarled, but stopped from standing when Ororo grabbed his hand under the table. He turned to her but softened when he saw the pleading look in her eyes. "I'm not going to take off any time soon" he told them, but he was looking at her. He turned immediately back to the others, his face hard once more.

Emma leaned back in her chair, "All right, so we know that he is sticking around" she told them all "And I don't see anything in Logan's tiny little mind that would suggest he wouldn't"

Remy sniggered at Logan being referred to as having a 'tiny little mind' but Rogue pinched him, and Remy yelped. "Be more considerate Swamp rat" she hissed at him while he muttered profanities at her in French.

"Childish much?" Logan chuckled, but Rogue just poked her tongue at him. "Look, I know all of you would never expect this...from either of us, but it has happened and now we are going to follow through with this. And if you have a problem with this, then you have me to deal with"

The table was deadly silent for the rest of dinner, all thinking about Ororo's predicament. Ororo played with her own food until it came for someone to watch the detention students do the dishes in the kitchen, which she volunteered for. Ororo wondered what they were really going to say about all this when she and Logan left them.

Would they try to convince each other this was a good thing, or that this was going to ruin it all. But ruin what exactly? The same things that Ororo worried about the day she found out she was pregnant. It would ruin the team, maybe the school, because who would want a pregnant leader trying to save all of Mutant kind when she had to sit back at the school due to her large stomach?

Ororo knew they were going to talk to each other soon, and she wanted so desperately for them to approve.

**HEY HEY! I tried so hard to make this sound right but this is the best that I got, so sorry. In my original plan for this chapter this was only one part with the chapter before, but I thought that Ororo just found out about Logan sticking around, so I gave her some time to figure this all out. Then I thought it would be really fun to play with her emotions a little bit.**

**So this chapter was basically all free hand, the only bit I intended to make was she was going to tell them in this chapter, that's it, nothing else planned! I have a follow up chapter of the team's reaction in a few chapters time, so be on the look out.**

**I had so much fun writing Emma! She is always fun to write!**

**To tell you the truth I actually never planned to name this whole story 'Unexpected' but when I was making my plan I just needed a title for the document name so I just used the first word that popped into my head, I was planning to change it to something else but I was more preoccupied in actually writing the plan, then the first chapter was written under the name, then when I uploaded the first chapter I needed a name for the whole thing and I was so attached to 'Unexpected' that I used that.**

**Now I can't imagine another name for my story .**

**As always, review and make a little girl in Australia happy!**


	9. More or Less, Knowing

**Chapter 8**

**More or Less, Knowing.**

"Logan, I can do it myself" Ororo told the dangerous Canadian, who at that moment was holding her pile of text books for her. "Please, I am not incapable of holding onto a pile of books" she said, half laughing and half scorning him.

She tried to reach for her books but Logan held them out of her reach. "No way" he growled, half playful and half believable, taking another step in the hall. "It's not that hard plus you shouldn't-"

"I'm pregnant Logan, not helpless" she told him, reaching for her things again "Give them back" she jumped, but was once again unable to get a grip on the books that Logan held above his head. Logan shook his head and Ororo stepped back, hands on hips and glaring at him, the wind outside picking up "I can hold them myself" she assured him.

"Okay, fine fine" he said, bringing the books back down to her level, but as she reached for them he took them out of her grasp. "Actually-"

"Logan! Give them back!" she shrieked, jumping up and holding onto Logan's body to get better leverage to her books. "Unless you want a thunder bolt somewhere unpleasant you had better hand those books back over!" she hissed.

Logan shrugged and handed her back the books, she snatched them out of his hands and stalked away from him to her office. It was an early Monday morning, Logan was up due to an early session in the danger room and Ororo because of her child within her making her sick, they both crossed each other in the hall and Ororo dropped a heavy text book on the floor.

Taking it upon himself, Logan picked the book back up and then went to grab the rest of her papers and books, but Ororo told him that she would be fine carrying them and asked for her book back. But Logan told her that she shouldn't be carrying so much due to her condition, and from there the playful argument turned nasty.

Twisting the handle of the door open with anger Ororo entered her office, she was about to swing the door in Logan's face, but was stopped when he threw his hand up. "Look, I'm sorry 'Ro" he apologised.

Ororo sighed, turning back to Logan "No, I'm sorry. You were merely playing around, I just took it out of proportion...I think it's just all of the hormones" she supplied, waving her hand around "I'm just tired, that's all"

"Have you been getting enough sleep?" he asked her.

"Oh for goodness sake Logan! If you are going to be like this for the next 7 months I'm going to get Rogue to put you in a coma" Ororo said, stomping her foot like a teenager in an argument. "I can take care of myself"

He walked over to her and gripped her shoulders "I know you can, but for the last 6 years you've been thinking of everyone else and _then _you. This kid is part of you for the next 7 months and I'm not sure you realise that yet"

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"What time did you go to bed two nights ago" he asked her, but Ororo didn't answer and instead looked away. "Ororo?" he asked again.

Ororo nibbled her lip before she answered "Same time as you got up" she whispered. She looked up and saw that Logan had his eyebrow raised, she scowled "Don't look at me like that, I have a lot of work to do" she sighed "But...I'll try to get more sleep"

Logan smiled at her "Look, I'm not just thinking about the kid. You've been working yourself to death for years and now you actually have an excuse to kick back a little bit"

Ororo nodded at him, smiling as well "Yeah, I guess you're right" she laughed.

Suddenly there was a knocking at the door, "Professor Munroe!" a young female voice asked on the other side "Can I come in? Please please please!"

Ororo looked up and Logan, and started to run around him to the desk. "Logan...hide" he raised an eyebrow "Oh, I don't know! Tabitha is a big gossip in the school and if she even suspects something is going on-"

"Ororo, I've been teaching the girl ever since she got here, I think I know Tabitha Smith well enough" he growled, he then moved to the door and opened it, when he did a tall girl with short blonde hair fell onto the floor, obviously listening to the door before Logan opened.

She looked up at Logan who was glaring down at her "Hey Logan, what up?" she asked, still on the ground.

Logan rolled his eyes and stepped over her, "I'll see you later 'Ro" he told her.

Ororo watched him as she walked around the desk and kept the door from slamming Tabitha on the floor "Bye Logan" she called. She looked down at the girl still lying on the floor who was smiling at her, "What is it Tabitha?" she asked, helping the girl up.

Tabitha pouted "You don't want to talk about you and Logan?" Ororo glared at her and Tabitha clapped her hands and sucked on her lip "Okay then. I was just wondering if I could have an extension on that history oral"

"Can I ask why?" Ororo asked, moving back around her desk as Tabitha jumped onto the chair across from her.

Tabitha played with her hands, making a flat plane "I kind of lost it" she said, gritting her teeth in to a sort of smile. Ororo narrowed her eyes as Tabitha moved further up her chair "I'm so sorry but you know how I have like 5 roommates, well, Dazzler, you know Alison, kind of freaked out Danny in the middle of the night while she was sleeping and Danielle started to send out all these weird dreams which she couldn't control, scaring like half of the people in our room, anyway, some of the nightmares made the guys freak out so bad-"

"The short version please Tabitha" Ororo asked the teenager.

"Oh yeah, sure, to make this story short...Amara melted my laptop" Tabitha said, biting her thumb nail. "I'm really sorry!" she begged, sliding down the chair and holding her hands out to Ororo. "I swear to god it was an accident"

Ororo sighed, taking out her notebook "I can give you an extra day" she saw Tabitha do a fist pump when she thought that Ororo wasn't looking "You just can't watch the others"

"Yeah, sure! Thank you so much!" Tabitha smiled, jumping up and down on her chair. "I swear that I will never interrupt you again!"

Ororo gave a very obvious fake laugh, trying to cover up her secret with laughter. "I don't know what you mean. There is nothing going on- I mean, Tabitha you shouldn't make accusations like that"

"Oh, I'm sorry" Tabitha said, holding her hands up in defence. "I totally get _nothing _is going on between you two" she jumped up from her chair and backed away to the door "Thank you so much, I will get to work on that right now"

"You better" Ororo told her, the second the door shut she exhaled with pent up stress, glad that she was going to get out of the school tonight with Logan. Tabitha was close to finding out Ororo secret relationship with Logan, and she knew that piece of information would not stay secret for long.

oOOo

Gossip ruined what was meant to be a perfect day. The students were staring out the window at the rain that pelted the window, occasionally they glanced at the weather witch that sat at the small table in the back of one of the Rec rooms, determined not to listen to the whispers of gossip that followed her. Ororo was fuming, the entire student body had finally found out about her and Logan.

Last night, when they had both gone out, someone had planted a camera near the entrance of the school, not unlike the security cameras near the gate. The difference was that this camera was controlled by the students.

Unfortunately last night, when Ororo and Logan arrived back at the mansion they had started to kiss furiously in the car, Ororo started to smile as she remembered the way the gear shift had bruised her back, but then that grin turned into a frown. It was a stupid mistake on her part, it was her own fault she was in this predicament.

If only she had not tried to bang Logan's brains out in his car she would never have the kids talking behind her back about the same exact thing, she thankfully didn't go any further, telling Logan that she was feeling a bit ill and that they should go inside. But her biggest mistake was when, in the car, she mentioned that pretty soon he should get used to leaning over objects to get to her lips, she further proved this by miming her stomach.

Ororo was pretty sure that the students wouldn't be able to see this little dark hand movement in the car, but Ororo thought that some of the other students were suspicious of something else going on with her. The older ones were asking questions, why she ran out of class, why she refused to have certain foods or even be around them.

She knew eventually they would ask questions, but Ororo wasn't sure if she was ready to tell the entire student body that she was pregnant, and pretty soon they would have to deal with her splitting her time with the children and her baby, knowing very will which one would get the priority.

However Ororo's fears of her pregnancy being exposed would have to wait, for once again the registration had been refused on television but a new issue had arisen in government, as the reporter was now telling the world.

She wore a suit and black microphone, telling the world that another blow had come to mutant kind "_The mutant registration act has once again been dismissed by the Government due to the fear and danger that those mutants have endured, for years the people of America have wanted this bill to pass but they have been disappointed again. But another step has been taken by the government instead, a marriage licence now can only be given to those of the same species."_

"_Yes, there is no longer allowed human and Mutant marriages. But this isn't enough for some, there has even been talk about pre-natal cures for new-born children of mutants-" _

"Could someone turn that off!" Ororo yelled. The kids all looked at her in fear, scared at the sudden outburst of the calm teacher, but turned the television off none the less. "Thank you" she murmured, rubbing her forehead.

It was becoming more difficult for Mutants every day since the war at Alkatraz had only proved to some people that the X-men were there to protect them, but it only proved to others that some Mutants were too dangerous to handle even their own power.

Ororo was getting sick of all this talk of Mutants registration and then for the government to even think about stopping people who loved each other to not marry, just because of a difference in genes was just despicable.

Rogue approached Ororo and sat down across from her at the small table. "Hey there, feeling a bit moody?" she teased. Ororo glared at her from under her hand "Ah'll take that as a yes" she guessed "Anyway, Ah just wanted to tell you, something is going on with Megan"

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked.

"Well..." Rogue mused, looking around the room before she turned back to Ororo "Just that in the middle of the night Sofia woke up and came to me, telling me that Megan was gone, when Ah looked it was true but the next mornin' when Ah asked Megan, she said she never left her bed"

"Rogue, I disagree with a girl leaving her room in the middle of the night, but it's not unheard of. Remember Artie? He still stays up all night in the Rec. Room watching TV"

"Yeah, Ah know, but at least we know where he is. Sofia told me about that almost a week ago and every night Ah check in the room and Megan isn't there, then Ah look around the entire school lookin' for her...Ororo, she wasn't anywhere" Rogue told Ororo, fear on her face that her young friend would leave the school just at night and never tell her.

Ororo tapped her thumb against her lower lip before she moved it away to let her hand rest on her shoulder "Okay, did she do it again last night?" Rogue nodded in response "Well, this afternoon could you bring her to my office and I'll ask her what she is doing." She told her, standing up and collecting her papers.

"Yeah, sure...uh 'Ro, yohr pants have got a split in them" Rogue pointed out, leaning back and pointed to it. Ororo leaned over slightly and saw that her tight fitting jeans indeed have a split on her right hip of her jeans. Rogue leaned back in her chair and looked up at Ororo "Ya need to go shopping"

"But I just got these" Ororo whined, feeling the rip with her finger tips.

"It's natural 'Ro, you're going to gain weight eventually. Ah mean, your boobs are going to get bigger, ya probably need a new bra as well. Ya can probably get away with loose jeans for now, but who knows when you're going to get time to go shopping again."

"But I don't have time now" Ororo told Rogue, sitting back down in frustration.

"Yeah, ya do. It's the afternoon, no more classes, no appointments, ya have nothin' that could distract you. Just go out!" Rogue pointed to her jeans again "Cause those ain't going to fit ya for long"

Ororo sighed, "Fine. I'll go out" she turned to go on her way out but paused and turned back to Rogue "Just don't tell Logan"

Rogue waved her hands at her and started to sit forward in her chair "Right, right. Just go before the man smells that you're gone" she laughed. Ororo grimaced more than anything and made her way up the stairs to her room so she could pick up her wallet.

Late afternoon was a time when students were playing sports, studying or in most cases, just lying around and talking to friends. As Ororo passed most of the rooms the doors were open, shouts and screams as well as the overwhelming noise of different music. Plus the sounds of people practices their powers and instead blowing something up. She was just fumbling for her key when she heard someone scream and another bang issued through the hall.

It had been a long a busy day and Ororo wasn't in the mood to go shopping for new clothes, but she knew she had nothing suitable if indeed she started to gain weight insanely fast, her clothes were professional but they were tight fitting around the waist and she had no shirts that could hide her stomach in months to come.

Her clothes weren't tight per say, but they did show off her figure and a pound more or less was going to have to mean buying new pants. Ororo almost dropped her book to the ground but polish chipped fingers caught the book just in time. Ororo looked up and saw the grinning face of Tabitha "Oh Tabitha, I didn't even hear you come up"

Tabitha shrugged "I'm always seen...and heard, well duh, anyway, you must of been thinking of something" Ororo smiled at the girl and found the keys to her door. "Anyway, I have that oral all done and I got a hard copy here" Tabitha told her, putting a few pieces of stapled paper on top of Ororo's book and handing it back to her when the door swung open.

"Thank you for that Tabitha, I would hate to chase you up about this" Ororo told her, taking the book into her arms.

Ororo was about to open the door fully when she glanced into the room and saw that an ultra sound picture was stuck in the mirror, something that most unobservant people would never notice. But Tabitha was a small thief before she came to the school and would definitely check out the room before she entered, a technique that Ororo used for years and still used after her time on the street, it was simply a part of her defence to check out the room before entering.

Ororo quickly shut the door, blocking Tabitha's view of the bedroom, Tabitha stared at her in confusion before Ororo guided her down the top steps. "Now if there is nothing else that you need then just ask me" Ororo told her dismissively.

Tabitha looked at Ororo through narrowed eyes "Sure, whatever" she told her. She blinked and waved as she made her decent down the stairs without Ororo's guiding hand. "See you tomorrow" she yelled up the stairs.

Ororo exhaled deeply before opening the door more fully for her to enter, she picked out a more giving pair of pants and put them on quickly. She then proceed to make her way down the stairs with purse in under arm and keys in hand, ready to get the very small nightmare out of the way.

Passing her mirror Ororo doubled back to it, fingering the small picture of her baby, smiling at it "Another thing I have to deal with, my child, but I know you will be worth it" she told the picture.

oOOo

Maternity shopping could either be a happy time or a depressing time, depending on how you feel about the baby in the first place. If you were a woman who had been waiting a long time for a child then yes, shopping for oversized shirts and elastic waist banded jeans was a sign that you were finally getting what you had most dreamed of.

If the child was unwanted, then seeing pile after pile of inflated shirts and saggy jeans was just another depressing sign that you were going to be trapped with this mistake.

For Ororo it was the first choice, her child was something she dearly wanted and to see all the clothing she could wear in just a few months just reminded her of this surprise.

The upmarket store was located in Winchester and Ororo often avoided it, seeing all the women inside happy or depressed about their upcoming pregnancy made Ororo feel worse. She had no one and they had someone, someone who they could raise the way they wanted to. But Ororo was now joyful that now she could be the woman that most others wanted to be.

It was not exactly silent in the store, but it wasn't unnaturally quiet. Ororo looked through suitable clothing for work, shirts that were just a little larger and would show off her eventual bump, when her phone started to vibrate in her bag. Quickly, Ororo picked it up and saw the number of Logan flashing across the screen, most likely wondering where she was.

"Hello Logan" she answered.

"_Where the hell are you?" _he asked her the second she picked up. Ororo clucked her tongue at the response, no friendly greeting (or the Wolverine's equivalent of a greeting) at all.

"I'm shopping Logan, if it's any of your business" she bristly told him, waving off the looks of a couple that were looking at her with a smile. "My jeans split this morning and I would rather be prepared in case it happened again"

"_Why didn't you ask me to come?" _Logan growled.

Ororo sighed, she was shopping, a task that some people preferred to do alone. Logan was becoming to protective and on some level Ororo liked it but right now it was just irritating to be questioned on what she was doing all the time. "Because I don't want you around all the time. I'm perfectly capable to do this alone" Ororo told him.

On the other end of the phone Logan sighed as well _"Fine" _he finally said _"Just call me if there is any trouble" _

Ororo chuckled, picking up one last item and adding it to the few items she had in her arms "I'll be fine Logan, just look after the children. And the adults at that" Ororo told him, hearing him bark a laugh before she hung up.

She walked towards the cashier, handing over the clothes with a smile. The cashier looked at her, her eyes looking over Ororo's body, stopping at her white hair, before she moved to scan the items. Ororo was sick of the looks that people gave her, she was used to them but that didn't mean she liked it. The way people thought she was a poser or a Mutant.

Ororo was interrupted from her inner dialogue when another woman tapped her on the shoulder, turning to her, Ororo noticed that the blonde had already gotten a protruding stomach. "Hey, you're getting a lot of work clothes, you don't want something to sleep in?" she asked her.

Embarrassed, Ororo's cheeks reddened "Oh, I didn't think of that" she admitted.

The other woman shrugged, "To tell you the truth, you're better off just wearing a pair of old sweats to bed, maternity PJs are just as confining. Trust me" she told Ororo, rubbing her stomach and grinning.

Ororo nodded, handing over her credit card to the clerk. "Thanks for the advice" she told the woman.

She nodded "That's alright. Oh, by the way, you know that school. Xavier's or something" she said, looking away from Ororo to search her mind for the answer, if she had been looking at Ororo, she would have seen a flash of fear cross her face "Anyway, don't let your kid play with one of them there. All mutants" she finished, disgusted.

Ororo frowned "There is nothing wrong with mutants" she told the woman as she typed in her pin number, then turned back to the woman "They are just like you or me"

"Not exactly" the woman piped up "I heard that they are trying to stop Mutants from having Mutant children, rotten thing to do though, a child is precious no matter what. But its all politics and I have more to focus on" she told Ororo.

The clerk handed Ororo her two bags with a pleasant 'have a good day', but Ororo's day had been turned around again. "Thank you for the advice" she told the woman again and walked out the store. She glanced up and down the road, looking out for cars, and during a small gap in the traffic she ran across the street to the parking lot.

Although some people would feel unsafe during the light darkness of the evening in a parking lot, Ororo enjoyed it. The coolness of the night making her feel calm and relaxed instead of agitated at the woman in the store, she was naive, against the real world and Ororo couldn't stay mad, she said a child was precious no matter what, just that she was scared of children who had powers, like any other over protective mother.

A car revved it's engine just a few yards from her, but Ororo ignored it and tried to focus on finding her own car. The car revved again, scaring Ororo when it's lights turned up full blare, making her shield her eyes with her free arm.

The car was only a few yards away and staring down Ororo like a mad bull, Ororo looked only once at the car before she started to walk to her own car again, but it blared it's horn, scaring Ororo.

From within the car someone rolled down the window and stuck almost half his body out of the car, "It's you mutants that are taking everything that is ours!" he yelled at her.

Calmly, Ororo replied "Its humans like you that cause so much trouble for Mutants" she retorted, turning her back and walking back to her car. But the sound of the engine moving alerted Ororo that she was going to be killed if she didn't get out now.

She turned around quickly and saw that indeed the car was driving towards her, but what they didn't expect was her to use her power to lift herself off the ground and above the car. She watched as below her they drove over where she was standing and then stopping with a screech of the brakes.

Jumping out of the car, with guns at their side, they looked up at her almost a mile above their heads. "A dirty mutant like you would get pregnant obviously. But how will you feel with they take the kid from your arms?" one of them yelled at her.

Another man, getting tired of all the talk, yelled at the others "Come on, just fucking shoot her." And then lifting his gun, took a shot at her, which Ororo barely ducked.

Seeing that she wasn't going to risk her life just because of some over confident bastards, Ororo started to fly back to the school. But not before sending a warning bolt of lightning at them. Make them think twice before attacking her or another mutant again. She would care if they were hurt by the lightning but she wouldn't care for physiological damage.

She flew quickly in the air, flying over the buildings directly over the suburbia of Winchester again, missing the long time in traffic all together. She wished to stay in the air for longer but the bags she still carried in her arms were starting to get torn by the speed she was flying through the air. Upon seeing the school Ororo started to make her decent.

There was nothing abnormal except for students laying about in the dark, looking at the new stars that appeared in the sky, or were making a trek back to the school from various sports that Logan often over saw before a break then back to the danger room to train the new X-men.

Ororo landed softly on the ground, her feet making barely a sound on the gravel path, but a small sob escaped her. Immediately she noticed Logan come up to her and standing in front of her. Without delay she grabbed hold of him, crying softly into his dirty shirt, filling her nose with his scent as she started to cry of her almost death.

How could someone be so upset of the start of a new life? She asked herself over and over again while Logan tried to guide her somewhere more privet, how could someone be so horrible and try to kill someone and their unborn child? She wanted to move but she couldn't, she was so close to being killed just for leaving a particular store, by people who would not understand.

She found that Logan had guided her towards the small pond near the back of the school, being over looked by the kitchen, which was alive with noise for dinner. "Hey" Logan finally said "What happened?" he asked her.

Ororo inhaled shakily and told her story, "A group of anti-mutant activists saw me leaving the store today, thankfully they weren't able to harm me but they came close to it."

"But you are okay?" he asked, concerned, holding her back to look at her face.

Ororo sobbed again "I'm fine" she told him "But I had to leave my car behind"

Logan pulled her against his chest again, holding her tight and making her feel safe again. Ororo wrapped her arms around his body, pulling him closer in the act, her tears drying slowly as she rubbed her face against his chest. "I'll kill those bastards for hurting you" he growled.

"There is no need" She whispered "I've sent a warning shot. And I don't miss twice"

"I should know" he muttered.

Above their heads, in the kitchen, there were several bangs and crashes and a few screams as the obvious smell of smoke came out of the window, falling over the couple hugging. "Better get back to work" Logan muttered. "I'll see you at dinner" he departed by kissing her forehead with his scratchy chin, then running up the steps to put out the fire in the kitchen.

Even though Logan didn't say much his actions of affections made Ororo feel all the better. They way he held her, kissed her and asked if she was fine. He knew when she wanted him for longer and she knew that. She had trouble like this before and it was only the extra fact that she was pregnant that made this situation worse than others.

But she handled all those fine and just to hear that Logan would carve up those who wronged her was all she wanted to hear. Now all Ororo wanted to do was eat a good hot meal, have a long bath and go to sleep in her bed. Early, for once.

Ororo picked up her bags from the ground and flew up to her balcony outside her room, opening the door to her room. She dropped her bags next to her desk and sat down on the foot of her bed, trying to calm herself down.

She was safe, her child was safe. That's all that mattered to her right now. She gripped the edge of her bed, a calm blow of air hitting her face and hair from outside the room.

Rubbing her face with her hand Ororo got off her bed and made her way to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face, erase the signs that she had been crying.

As she walked past her mirror she doubled back. Something wasn't right. She turned her direction to the mirror and saw that although the picture was still there, it was slightly higher than it was before, as though someone had come in and taken the picture and put it back, but forgot how high it was.

Someone had been in her room and seen the picture.

In a panic Ororo unlocked her room and ran down the stairs to the kitchen, intent on finding Logan again and to find who had been in her room. An intruder, it could have been anyone. "Logan!" she yelled when she ran down the stairs to the first floor "Logan, where are you?"

"I'm in here 'Ro!" he said, coming out in a half run, half walk, grabbing her arms to stop her "What's wrong?"

"Someone's been in my room" she told him, dragging him back up the stairs to her room, she dropped his hand as they came up the stairs to the first floor near all the rooms, students looking at them as they rushed past.

The halls twisted and turned till they finally made it to Ororo's stair case, leading up to her room, looking around quickly for any students, she walked up the stairs into her room, walking to the mirror and pointing out the mirror to him. Logan looked at the picture carefully before taking it and holding it to his nose, trying to find a scent.

Logan looked at Ororo, handing back the picture, she held it to her heart as she waited for a response. "Boom Boom" he finally muttered.

Boom Boom.

Also known as Tabitha Smith.

Ororo looked down at the picture of her sonogram and back at Logan again, exhaling Ororo decided this wasn't the worst person but defiantly not the best. The whole school could have been told by now, and if not, then it was only a matter of hours. "How could Tabitha do such a thing?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to kill her" he growled, starting to run out the door. Ororo, seeing his anger, dropped the picture on to the bed and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Don't Logan" Ororo said. Logan stopped and turned to her "I will talk to Tabitha and find out if she knows anything or she _thinks_ she knows" she let go of his arm and made her way out of the room. Logan followed her and she locked the door behind her, wondering if her secret's time was up.

"Fine. Let's just go and get dinner...are you able to keep anything down yet?" he asked, she nodded and he walked behind her, as though he was guarding her. Sometimes an overprotective Logan made Ororo feel safer about the world she thought she knew.

oOOo

After dinner Ororo sat in her office, awaiting for two separate girls for two separate problems. One had pink hair and wings while the other was blonde and knew a lot more than she should. There was a small knock on the door and Ororo stood up to open the door, outside of the door Tabitha was texting on her phone, upon seeing Ororo she shoved it into her pocket and smiled at the teacher. "I was told to see you" she told Ororo.

Ororo nodded, wondering how many people she could have told by now "Yes. Come in" she said, standing back and letting Tabitha in. Tabitha walked over to the chair in front of the desk and sat down while Ororo sat on the edge of the desk. "Tabitha, I know you were in my room. For what reason I cannot work out" she said, cutting to the chase.

But Tabitha just gave her a sneaky smile "Miss, you know as well as I do that I'm a thief, same as you. I notice things and I noticed that you were acting up for a couple of days and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay"

"What you did Tabitha was totally uncalled for and highly inappropriate!" Ororo said, raising her voice slightly. Tabitha did not cower in her chair at all "You have entered my privet quarters and looked through my personal belongings-"

"So you know that I know" she smirked.

Ororo faltered for a second before yelling again "Tabitha! This is not a time to try and be smart! Breaking and entering a teacher's room is disregarding a school rule which you agreed to follow! If you keep breaking these sort of rules I will be forced to give you more than a detention, I know there are a lot more students who wish to come to the school"

Tabitha's eyes widened in fear "Professor! I was serious when I said I was just checking on you!" Tabitha tried to say, sitting up straighter "Everyone has been wondering about you for days! I told them all it was probably nothing but they wanted to make sure you weren't dying or something"

"So what did you tell them?" Ororo asked, leaning back on her desk and looking at the girl "Did you tell them the whole truth or what they needed to know?"

"I told them the whole truth" Tabitha said simply. Ororo hissed and dropped her head. "They were all worried but trust me when I say that everyone is, like, so happy for you and the wolf man"

Ororo raised her head "It doesn't matter if people are happy for me or not" she told Tabitha "You still broke a rule...but if you promise to _never _do it again, then you can stay" Tabitha smiled happily at Ororo "But you have detention for the rest of the semester _and _an extra week of danger room sessions"

"Aw" Tabitha sighed, getting up from her seat "Well, I still get to stay at least, Thank you" she shrugged walking to the door followed by Ororo. Suddenly she turned back around "I am happy for you by the way. You're going to be a good Mom and I'm not sure about Logan, but this kid is going to be lucky." She smiled warmly at her teacher before she opened the door and left.

Ororo closed the door behind Tabitha and held onto the knob, staring at it. The entire school knew now, by morning people would be congratulating her on her pregnancy. She would no longer make fake excuses to leave the room and she could freely talk about all her worries and joys out loud to the other teachers without worry that a student was listening in.

But why was she so scared? Was it because if everyone knew then she couldn't have an excuse not to talk about it? Her pregnancy still scared Ororo, it's such a big change in her life and she still felt unprepared for it.

She tried to stay calm, to act like she knew what was happening, but truthfully she still had no idea what she was going to do.

A small light knock sounded on the door, most likely Megan. Ororo shook her head and opened the door with a smile, the young girl smiled back at her and flounced into the room. "Hi! Doctor Darkholm told me you wanted to talk to me?" she asked.

"Yes, yes" Ororo said, leading the girl to the chair and Ororo sat in exactly the same position she did with Tabitha. "A roommate of yours has told me for the last week you haven't been in your room during the middle of the night. She told Miss Darkholm and when it happened again she looked around the school for you, and as you know, you weren't any where to be found"

Megan gulped and Ororo continued "I could have assumed that you might have been flying somewhere but to where I don't know. Megan, it's for your safety that I need to know where you are at night. The world is dangerous at the moment for Mutants. So please, I won't get mad, but could you please tell me where you go at night"

Looking away, Megan played with the hem of her shirt before she turned back to Ororo again "My aunt is a supporter for mutants. When my parents came home a few weeks ago and told her what happened she called me and said that I could stay with her, but Jason always said that he hated her so I haven't told him where I was going. And if I knew Bec or Sam knew then they would tell him"

"I still want to go here, but if I don't live at the school then I can't go" she finished, a tear in her eye. Ororo felt sorry for the small girl, no matter what she thought of her Megan was still a girl orphaned and was outcasted by normal society, she still needed to learn how to use her power and she had become attached to the school and the people, no matter how smart she was.

Ororo kneeled down in front of the girl and took her hand, immediately Megan looked at her "Megan, you are welcome to still come to this school, we do have places for students who we can't house but we can school, as long as you are still happy to come?"

Megan smiled brightly, jumping up and hugging Ororo around the neck, almost knocking her over "Oh thank you miss Munroe!" she squealed like a young girl "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Megan said, hugging tighter.

This was probably one of the only times that Megan looked happy with just Ororo in the room, the smile was real and so was the hug she was giving. After another squeal of joy Megan let go of Ororo. Ororo smiled at the child "Why don't you pack right now and I will take you home?"

Megan nodded her head, "I'll do that right away!" she said, turning on her heel. She opened the door and looked back and Ororo realised that Megan wanted her to come with her. Ororo smiled again and they made their assent up the stairs and down the twisting halls to Megan's room.

Megan opened the door and ran over to her bed, but stopped when she saw something on her pillow. Snatching it she looked at it quickly before turning it over and looking at the other side. Ororo was only able to get a glance of a blue and black picture and on the back _Remember _written in red. Megan growled and scrunching it up in her hand and shoving it into her pocket.

Remembering that someone else was in the room with her she turned back and smiled "Someone doesn't want me to go" she told Ororo, moving to her bed and ducking under to get her suitcase. She opened it up and started to pack the few clothes she had.

"I understand" Ororo nodded. It was most likely Jason, upset over how his little sister was going to go home and he wasn't. "Would you brother like to go to your aunt's?" Ororo asked, picking up some pants from a draw.

"No, he dislikes my aunt more than my parents. I think he would rather stay here." She told Ororo, putting one of her books into the bag. Megan had such little to pack it didn't take Ororo and Megan long to do so (Ororo wondered if most of Megan's things were at her aunt's house), but by the time Ororo went up to her room to collect her keys and a few forms for Megan's aunt to fill in, Megan was already packed and was zipping up her bag, putting on a jacket to cover her wings and waiting, ready to leave.

"Okay! Ready to go?" Ororo asked, Megan nodded enthusiastically and picked up her suitcase. "Great, do you want to say good bye to anyone, I know you will be back tomorrow but this is your first night away...officially"

"Could I say goodbye to Miss Darkholm before we leave?" she asked walking out the door and looking back at Ororo.

"Of course Megan." Ororo smiled "I think I spotted her in the kitchen before" and that's where they made their journey too. Rogue was there, sitting on a stool and drinking a cola, just staring into space. She heard Ororo and Megan enter and turned around and saw the suitcase, her eyes narrowing.

"Where are you going?" she asked, Megan gulped and Ororo gave her a push forward.

Megan sighed sadly, looking away from Rogue's face, "Doctor Darkholm, it's been awesome living here...with you and everyone else here, but...I kind of want to go home" she then looked at the teacher, Ororo, from her place in the door way could see the tears sparkling in her eyes.

Feeling out of place Ororo spoke "I'll be back in the minute with the car, just come out front when you are ready" she said to Megan, and then proceeded to walk away.

Was it right to take Megan home right now? Ororo wondered as she entered the elevator and went down to the garage. Sure, Megan could stay here as long as she wished and in a few hours time that would be the usual time Sofia would not find Megan in her bed, so if she went home now then she could come back, coming to school on a bus. Much safer than a small girl trying to fly across town before sunrise.

Ororo heard the familiar beep as she opened Cyclopes old car, it was their small emergency car but it was rarely used and Ororo thought that Megan would appreciate if they didn't go around the streets in the heavy armoured X-men van. Getting into the slightly dusty but still ahead of it's time car, Ororo started it up and clicked a button next to the radio, a signal was transmitted to open the garage door.

As Ororo rounded the car out front she saw Rogue walking out with Megan, both of them sad but not permanently, they would see each other again in the morning and they both knew it. Megan put her suitcase in the back seat and then, waving goodbye with promises to come back 'really early' in the morning, Megan got in the front seat of the car and she and Ororo departed.

They travelled in silence with only the radio on between them, they had nothing really to say to each other and Ororo didn't want to upset the girl further as she already seemed distraught over leaving the school and probably wanted to remember the good times she had living there. Megan was looking out the window and occasionally told Ororo which way to go, they travelled further and further into New York city until they reached a high rise building.

"You can stop here" Megan said. Ororo followed her advice and parked outside of the hotel on the opposite street. Ororo had only 20 minutes before someone would tow Cyclopes car.

Rushing across the street during the designated time they just made it across before the cars started to drive furiously again "Would your aunt be home?" Ororo asked.

Megan shrugged as she passed the porter and smiled, "Don't know" she told Ororo. "She might be, but I have a key to get in", she pressed the button for the elevator and almost immediately it opened up to a classy mirrored elevator.

The ride up was smooth but none the less, Ororo hated it and was glad to leave when the doors opened again on the 22nd floor. Megan wandered over to the last door in the hall and opened the door. "Wait here a sec, I'll just go see if she is home" she told Ororo, picking up her suitcase and going inside.

Ororo checked her watch and barely had to wait a second before a blonde woman came out. She had pale skin and pale blue eyes, and a nice smile. She and her niece looked nothing alike but that was common with family. "Hi" the woman greeted her "I'm Valerie Cooper"

Ororo, recognising the woman, raised her eyebrow and her mouth formed a small 'O' before she regained her composure. Valerie Cooper was a national security adviser who until only a few months ago was one of many government officials who despised mutants but suddenly Valerie changed her views on mutants and began to defend them "The pleasure is all mine." She said, shaking Valerie's hand "I have to say I was quite surprised when you defended the Brotherhood a month ago"

Valerie gave her glamorous smile "Well, one of their leaders saved my life and I discovered all Mutants aren't bad, they are just trying to defend themselves" she told Ororo, leaning on the door and smiling inside before turned back to Ororo "I would invite you in but the place is just a mess of boxes at the moment."

"That's alright. I should get back to the school soon. I just came up to see if Megan could get in and to give you a couple of forms" Ororo looked around her purse and handed Valerie a few folded papers but unfolded one of a map. "We have a bus that picks up a few students in the city, there is an area that Megan wait that's on the route but if she wants to come in earlier that just as fine"

"Sure, I'll drop her at the bus stop and these forms will be done tomorrow" she smiled, there was a small crash behind her and she rolled her eyes "Better get back inside before Megan breaks anything else"

"I'll see her tomorrow then" Ororo waved goodbye to Valerie as she shut the door (yelling out as she did) and Ororo pressed the button for the elevator. Ororo was glad that Megan could find a home again, with a government agent at that, but if they had to change a person's mind one person at a time it was going to take them a million years to make the world at peace.

**Wow! Love this chapter! Lots of mystery in here!**

**Valerie Cooper is a real character, but I made a artistic decision and made her an aunt to Megan, don't worry, Megan is still in the story but to make this whole thing work I need her to be home at certain moments.**

**Okay, now some of you have been wondering when you get to see the team's reactions...sorry to say it's NEXT chapter that's happening, so just hang in there!**

**The thing about Ororo not getting enough sleep is part of the whole story but part of my life as well, my anaemia is back again and I'm a bit upset as that means more hospital visits, needles and if I'm unlucky, a blood transfusion. So I have a lot to think about at the moment and people aren't making it any better at school since they keep saying I look sick with the big bags under my eyes. This is basically the reason that this chapter took so long. So. Many. Doctor. Appointments!**

**Review and make a sick little girl in Australia happy.**


	10. Eavesdropping

**Chapter 9**

**Eavesdropping**

Ororo woke up with a panic in the middle of the night, she just woke from an awful dream where the walls were closing in on her while she slept and she couldn't escape, it was one of those recurring nightmares that someone really never got over, she had this dream when she was young and yet it continued right up to now.

When she woke she checked around the room, panting, making sure that indeed she was awake and this wasn't another part of her nightmare. When she finally realised she was indeed awake she exhaled, feeling calmer already, but then something else came over her.

Hunger.

After 2 and a half months of feeling ill and throwing up so often, the sensation of hunger was suddenly strange to Ororo, she ignored it, pulling back her covers and trying to fall asleep, but her stomach growled again.

Sighing, she got up and slipped a light dressing gown over her pyjamas and silently opened her door. It was dead quiet, just the way she liked it, the children were asleep as were the teachers so she was free to roam the halls and think about whatever she wanted without being interrupted.

Sometimes Ororo wished for these moments, where she could just walk around and try to sort through her thoughts about anything and everything, but usually she had some other pressing matter that kept her away from the dead of night. Of course she still had those papers to be marked or those forms to sign but Ororo gave herself a break, she could think about what she wanted now, think about her life for once and not about everyone else's.

Making her way to the kitchen Ororo yawned and ruffled her hair slightly before she heard a voice, no, make that two voices in the lit kitchen. But she was wrong again, peeking around the corner she looked into the kitchen and saw the school staff (minus Logan) all at the table in the kitchen, Remy was drinking a coffee with Rogue and Emma was eating yet another pop tart, it seemed as though most of the occupants had gotten up in the middle of the night for a snack and run into each other.

"I just don't know what she's thinking!" Bobby said, looking to the table, no one really looked at him but Ororo all knew they were listening intently, Ororo wondered what they were talking about that had to be discussed so late at night.

"Shut your mouth Bobby" Emma hissed, "It's not her fault she got herself knocked up... stupid though"

The blood drained from Ororo's face, they were talking about her! She knew it was wrong to listen to people when they were talking about her, but Ororo wanted do overhear what they were saying. She was curious, after all, about what her friends, colleges and team mates were saying behind her back.

Warren's wings fluttered slightly before settling back in the same place, "I just don't know what we are going to do about room! Ororo has a large amount of room up in her apartment but with a crying child at 3 in the morning, I don't think the students will get enough sleep!"

"The students?" Rogue scoffed, "What about meh! Ah live underneath her! Ah could even hear them conceive!"

Remy tutted "Poor Roguey, having to hear that in the middle of the night, and all alone as well"

"Shut up" she snapped.

"All I'm saying though" Bobby started again, and this time the table really looked at him "It's just that it's fine now, a few slips, but no one has really suspected she's pregnant yet. But when she starts getting bigger, people are going to start asking questions"

"What people?" Peter asked

"The government, parents, the media for god's sake" Emma hissed at Peter "When the media find out about this we are screwed over, remember when they found out about Jean? How she used to be an X-man? The fucking government was even more pissed off about that! Keeping a 'close eye' on us even though you all saved their asses. This could ruin all of us! Who's to say they won't start attacking children now they know that mutants are 'just like them'!" she cried out in a horse whisper.

"Messing up just like a normal person" Warren explained "But because we aren't human doesn't mean we aren't allowed to make errors"

Peter banged his fist slightly on the table "Yes, but because of this _problem_ it shows the world that Mutants are weak. The only reason that mutants aren't being attacked everyday is because normal people think we are more than human. I know that we make mistakes but that is the only defence that some mutants have, the illusion"

"So this whole pregnancy thing has screwed us all over" Remy concluded.

Ororo gripped harder onto the door frame, trying to stop herself from going in there and yelling at them or trying to stop herself from falling over. How dare they, Ororo fumed, how_ dare _they talk about her pregnancy as though it was a problem. Alright it was a small problem, but Ororo thought about it long and hard and she could never bring herself to get rid of the child and Ororo thought about all the fantastic changes this baby was going to bring, and she was so glad when people finally accepted this pregnancy.

And now to hear what the team really thought, it brought Ororo over the edge. These were her friends, and they were talking about how stupid she was, how irresponsible it was, she knew all that already and it took her days to get over it, and now the bring it all back up again?

Muffling a sob Ororo backed away from the entry way, but in her hurry to get away from these supposed friends she fell back into a table and knocked over a vase, making it smash on the floor. "What was that?" she heard Remy ask.

"I don't know" Peter replied, Ororo heard the scrapping of a chair and she backed away down to a more appropriate hiding place, somewhere she could get to quickly before they saw her "I'll go check it out" he told them.

Ororo was about to run up the stairs and back to her room but she heard the noise of a few children making their way down, if they saw her then she knew that they would tell Peter when he came across them and asked about the noise. Ororo ran faster past them and ran for the door, yanking it open and running into the cold air.

"Did you children knock over a vase?" she heard Peter ask the children as Ororo pressed her ear against the door. There were mummers of 'no' and 'I just got out of bed now' before Peter dismissed them, most likely going back to the kitchen. Ororo sighed in relief before sitting on the steps outside, waiting until Peter left and she could go back up to her room to cry.

Why would she cry? She was going to cry because she thought everything was falling into place, she thought that finally she could get on with her life and her pregnancy, but now to hear that her closet friends were regretting her was torment.

Ororo took in a shaky breath and felt the tell tale wetness on her cheeks as a few tears fell from her eyes, Peter was still trying to find the source of the noise and Ororo was in no position to fly to her room so she sat there and cried. The pure cold air hit her face and made the hot tears sting her face.

"Ororo?" she heard a voice question. Oh no, Peter found her, Ororo made no move to get up and instead tried to clear her voice so it would seem she hadn't been crying.

"Good evening Peter, I'm just wanted to...enjoy the fresh air" she finished lamely, but Ororo was just glad her voice didn't sound upset. She stayed facing away from him, knowing that her eyes would be red and puffy from the tears. "What are you doing up so late?" she asked, but she knew that both of them knew the answer to that question.

Peter was quiet, but then he sat next to Ororo, glancing quickly to her but then looked out over the silent world. They stared into nothing for awhile before Peter finally spoke "I'm sorry you heard what we were saying"

"I'm sure that whatever you were saying wasn't meant to heard by me" she muttered, a piece of hair getting into her vision, but she did not raise her hand to move it. "It was in the confidence of your friends that you all spoke those words"

"Ororo, I would never-" Peter started but was cut off by Ororo.

"But you did" she said coldly. She heard Peter gulp and he did not mutter another word, they sat in silence again "Are you really ashamed of me?" she asked Peter finally.

Peter gave a shaky breath before she felt him turn to her, "Ororo we aren't ashamed of you. We never were and we are never going to be" he then moved the piece of her hair from her vision and made her turn to his kind sweet face "While we say these things in the kitchen we never meant it against you."

"I heard what Emma said" Ororo told Peter, watching his eyes flicker back and forth "I know she thinks I'm some sort of slut for even getting myself pregnant. And the rest of you only care about what the media and the government will think about this _problem_" she spat, jerking her face away from his hand.

Peter gave her a sad smile before moving his hand from where her face used to be and instead holding onto her hand in a caring gesture "Emma doesn't mean it, and neither do the rest of them, it was an accident and we know that. But believe me when we say we are more happy for you than anything" he whispered. Ororo blinked slowly "And we are more concerned for your safety than anything else."

Ororo was overwhelmed with kindness but she could not stop the bitter tone that escaped her mouth "It is sweet that you think about my safety, but you do not need to be concerned with me" she told him, looking at his hand but not removing hers.

"It's the least we could do" he told her, his voice soft "You have given all of us a home, a purpose, something to fight for and we are all so grateful. But we don't want to see you hurt because of the way people will act around you now. And what would happen if you were ever injured during a mission and you lost the baby"

Ororo smirked, shaking his giant hand that covered her own small slender one "Peter if I were to ever leave the fight then in fact I will be hurt. I live in war every day of my life, it's all I've ever known" she told him, he smiled sadly, she knew he felt sorry that she never had a peaceful day in her life but gripped his hand to say she wasn't finished "But trust me Peter, I love the fight, I love knowing that I make a difference for all mutants, for the mutants of the future" she let go of his hand and shifted slightly, placing a hand on her stomach and smiling.

Peter smiled at her gesture "I never knew you felt so strongly about this" Peter told her, getting up and taking Ororo's hand to pull her up.

"I do. That's why it was so hard at one point to know that I had to give up the fight in a couple of months. But I know that this child will be a much larger adventure." She smiled up at the kind man, the man who looked he could crush her in a single move but he could not hurt a fly.

He was her protector, her knight in shining armour if you please, of course his armour was his body. He was like the modern day version of a prince and Ororo saw clearly why Kitty was so lucky to have him. Someone to keep her grounded and to protect her, even when he thought it was her fault.

Peter was gentle and kind and Ororo could not even remember why she was mad at him, how could she ever be mad at him. "It's going to be terrifying Peter. I know that, it's going to be demanding and hard, but you have no idea how badly I want this child now. It wasn't until I discovered about the baby that I discovered I always wanted it"

She looked up at him, his dark eyes shining at her "I was so happy when I found out about it. And then I was terrified about Logan, then when I found he was going to stay around, be part of the baby and my life and be completely happy about it, I was ecstatic. But the next big challenge was telling all of you. Rogue forced me to tell you, but I was so scared, and then I found out all of you were going to be fine with this it helped me so much"

"Peter, you have no idea how difficult my life is and when I found out about the baby I wasn't ready. But when I told you all about the baby I felt ready, I never thought about the child as part of my life, that I was actually going to have to change, but I've changed."

Ororo paused and looked into Peter eyes, before she spoke quietly "It broke me to find out that you all were lying to my face."

Peter gulped and then did something unexpected, he pulled Ororo foreword in a hug. Ororo was surprised but hugged the larger man back, burying her face into his chest. "I promise Miss Munroe, we were just venting, a word was never meant. On some level, yes, it was meant but really, we are all just so surprised but we are just so happy for you and Logan."

He moved her backwards and looked at her again before turning her towards the door and opening it for her "I'm sorry if we ever caused a doubt in your mind." He apologised.

Ororo smiled again and opening the door and allowing him in first "Peter, this has cleared up a lot of doubts in my mind...thank you for telling me this though"

"That's alright. But I just have to ask one thing" he asked, walking in behind her and locking the door behind him.

Ororo walked beside him as they made their way back to the kitchen "Yes, and what is that?"

"Why did you get up in the first place?"

Ororo snorted a laugh while Peter just smiled at her (with a hint of confusion) before he entered the corridor which would lead him to the kitchen. "Aren't you going to come?" he asked when she didn't follow.

"I just don't think I can face them at the moment" Ororo told him, turning around and walking the opposite way. "I'm just going to go back to bed"

Ororo didn't want to leave Peter hanging but she couldn't stand to see her friends right now, although they apparently didn't mean a word they said on some level didn't mean she was hurt that they really thought these awful things on some other level. Ororo knew the second she saw them she would burst into tears, due to her hormones.

"Is this about what we said?" she heard a quiet voice ask. Ororo turned around and saw that Peter was standing at the foot of the stair case, holding onto the railing as he looked up to her.

"It is" she said simply, not wanting to lie to him about what she was feeling since her emotions were so easy to see now "But I think it was actually best for everyone to say what they were thinking a loud, they will get over it" the second statement though was a lie, she did not know if they would get over it. "I know it was stupid, I know that, but I don't care anymore. And if they can't see that then I don't want to see them."

Peter nodded "Alright, I'll see you in the morning" he waved, walking away. Ororo nodded back to the darkness and made her way slowly upstairs, then her stomach rumbled, after this whole mess she forgot to get something to eat.

oOOo

"I can't believe it" Ororo muttered as she looked down at her scale, she was standing simply in her underwear , her hair hanging loosely and she had an amazed look on her face. "I can't believe it" she muttered again. Ororo had gained weight, not much, only half a pound.

Ororo was one of those people who saw the smallest change in weights as a sign that she should work out more and eat less unhealthy food, but Ororo hadn't been eating properly for days now. It wasn't her fault, of course, it was the constant throwing up that caused this.

After Ororo was able to keep some food down she decided to eat more fattening food so that she could at least have some more 'meat on her bones' (as Logan said to her as he shoved a pancake in front of her and moved her fruit salad out of the way), she found that she wasn't as hungry and that the baby wouldn't bring a bout of throwing up for a couple of extra hours.

So with that in mind, Ororo ate a few more things that before she would have never touched at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Getting off the scale she walked into her bedroom and turned sideways, looking at her figure in the mirror. At 3 months there wasn't much to look at (stomach wise), but Ororo could clearly see there was something there. She was still fit, her curves perfect and nothing looked immensely different.

But Ororo could tell.

Her hips were just a little larger and her breasts were bigger, Ororo was thankful that she bought a new bra, but was even more happy not to have to use it yet, she was still a long way off before she was forced to wear new clothes. Ororo rubbed her hand over her stomach and blew her hair out of her face, slamming her hands down to her side she turned from her mirror and went to her closet to pick what to wear.

How could she gain weight?

Just another question to ask her doctor when she went to see her, Ororo picked out a black pencil skirt and a white button down shirt. There were some of her old clothes, but they still clung to her perfectly. Ororo wondered how much longer she could get away with wearing her old things, her new clothes that she had bought were hanging in her closet and she was still scared to wear them.

Wearing them were going to be a big step, when she wore them, she was going to be pregnant. Not that she wasn't pregnant now, just that she was going to _look_ pregnant when she wore _those _clothes. Her shirt was going to be strained against her stomach and people would ask questions. They were going to ask when she was due, who was the father, boy or girl?

Running a brush through her hair and slipping on some shoes she picked up her day planner and ran down the stairs, she was starving again, it was so strange going from sick all the time to starving.

"Morning Professor!" two students greeted her as she ran down the stairs.

"Good morning" she replied "I will see you both in history class" the teens nodded and moved upstairs.

It was a good day so far, Ororo thought to herself as she opened the fridge. Random students greeted her and Warren watched as she closed the fridge with juice in hand. "Morning Ororo, nice to see you"

"And same to you Warren" Ororo placed a bowl on the table and picked up the box of wheeties and opened the flaps.

There was a pause as Warren handed some students plates of scrambled eggs and told them to take it to the main room, "I'm sorry about last night" he said in a whisper. "I had no idea that you were there, if you were I would never-"

"Warren it's okay. You have a right to say those things" she said, "In fact, it opened up my eyes" she smiled. Warren gave her a worried smile and started to clean up. Ororo smiled to herself as she gave into her cravings, she poured the wheeties into her bowl and poured her juice on top of that. She sliced up a banana up onto the cereal and looked up to Warren, who was staring at her in confusion. "I'll see you at breakfast" she told him and walked off trying to keep her bowl steady.

She lifted it above her head as a child ran past her, walking into the dining room, "Good morning" she greeted the staff table, smiling and putting the her things down.

"Uh?" Bobby said, he looked at Rogue who gave him a raised eyebrow in return before they both looked at Ororo in confusion.

She picked up her spoon, filled with orange juice, banana and wheeties and put it in her mouth. Bobby stuck his tongue out while Remy and Rogue looked at each other then her. "What?" she asked after she swallowed.

They all shook her heads and Ororo shrugged, putting her spoon back into the cereal and trying to find another bite. She heard Remy whisper "She knows that's juice and not milk, right?" he asked Bobby.

"Yes, I know that" Ororo told him, putting her spoon into her mouth and chewing with a smile.

There was a pause "It's her cravings" Rogue finally explained to everyone. Ororo nodded her head and swallowed.

"Ew" Emma said simply before she turned back to her own food. "Doctor Coe called for you this morning" Emma told Ororo as she picked up her coffee "She said that she has to come in to the school today"

"Do you know why?" Ororo asked. "I was scheduled to meet her tomorrow at the hospital"

"I don't know" Emma shrugged "but she said she would come by after school is finished for the day"

"Okay, thanks for passing on the message. Rogue, you should be there so you can talk to the doctor." Rogue nodded in agreement but left the table a second later. "I guess Megan's here" Ororo smiled at the others, they all grinned back and Ororo turned around and watched the reunion of two friends.

oOOo

The small bell sounded and the students started to move to collect their things. "And that's class" Ororo dismissed them. Ororo packed up her own things and made her way down to the basement and to the med labs.

Ororo ran down the hall, trying to get down to the labs as fast as she could but was blocked off when she ran into Remy, Remy jumped back and rubbed his head, "Sorry Mademoiselle, I didn't see you there"

"That's alright" Ororo said, trying to dodge him but Remy kept getting in her way "but I have to run, I'm late for an appointment"

"Oh, sorry." He said, Storm shrugged and tried to walk past him bust he blocked her "Stormy, what you heard last night, I'm sorry about that. I'm not really worried about the school. I'm more worried about the government"

"Why?" Ororo asked.

Remy gave her mischievous smile "I've seen you slightly mad with hormones. I can't wait to see you angry for a reason" Remy laughed to himself "Trust me when I say the world should be worried about you, not the other way around"

"Thanks Remy. I'm sure that's kind in your own way" Ororo said, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. Remy smiled back and held out his hand, allowing her to pass. Ororo nodded in response and they both laughed as they walked down the halls in opposite direction.

Ororo found that Remy was indeed telling the truth, and that Ororo had something to think about. The world should worry about her, not her about them. She was all powerful and pregnant, who shouldn't worry about her? But then she had her body guard, aka Logan.

Since Logan found out this was the end of her first trimester and the risk of miscarriage was down he was ecstatic, knowing that his chance to be a farther was even greater now, when he saw her eating a full meal today at lunch he was even happier. Ororo pressed the button for the elevator and tapped her foot impatiently while it made its ascent up to her, though a smile was still on her face.

As the door opened she came across a pleasant sight of Logan with his shirt off. Of course it was totally inappropriate but Ororo could not help but admire how perfectly delicious he looked. "Logan, you must wear a shirt around the school, it's highly inappropriate" she told him after a pause (where she knew her cheeks were flushed).

All Logan did was give Ororo a wolfish smile, "You know you like it darhlin'" he laughed, he backed up a bit and allowed her some room in the elevator, Ororo took a second before she went into the very small space, letting the door slide shut behind her. Logan, still with his shirt off, pulled Ororo closer and gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head. "You know I kind of missed you today" he murmured in her hair.

Ororo smiled, pulling away from him and pushing the shirt into his hands "I missed you to Logan, but put the shirt back on. I would hate to see someone down stairs open the elevator to see me draped over you"

Logan just gave a bigger smiled and pulled the shirt over his head as the door opened. Ororo walked out first with her books held to her chest, trying not to blush because of Logan's sweet nature. "What are you doing down here anyway Logan? Shouldn't you be with the soccer team?" she asked him as she turned down another corridor.

"Yes, but I had Peter take over today. I wanted to be with you during this"

Ororo smiled again and pushed open the door to the medical area. It was silent and the smell of too clean air hit Ororo's nose. "You know I always hated that smell" Logan muttered. "It smells like death"

"Then why do you come here with me?" she asked, placing her books down on a table and turning around to face Logan who was playing with a glass tubes near Rogue's medical desk. "And don't play with that" she snapped, although it sounded playful.

Logan lifted his hands away from the tubes just as Rogue entered the room, her white medical coat billowing behind her. "Hey 'Ro. Sorry it's been really busy down here"

Logan looked around at the uninhabited room "Yeah, I can see it's been a real mad house"

"Sh you!" Rogue said, walking past him and too Ororo instead, "Anyway, Ah called up Doctor Coe and she said she would let me to see how this is done the professional way"

"Which would mean?" Ororo asked.

"Stripping down" Rogue said simply. Ororo gazed at her and Rogue smiled simply "Sorry. But Doctor Coe said she should have done this the first time but she was in a bit of a hurry for you to get out of the hospital. Since this is a safe zone we can do this the proper way" Rogue smiled. She then walked past Ororo and started to look in the draws near the door. "Ah do have a gown in here somewhere" she said to herself.

A small hand appeared from the door followed by Megan, behind her she held out the white medical gown "It's here" she said.

Rogue smiled at her and ruffled Megan's hair before sending her away. "Thanks honey, hey could you help me out please and sort through the files next door?" she asked, Megan smiled and left the room. Rogue stood up and gave the gown to Ororo, "Yoah can change in there" she said, gesturing to a plain metal door in the back of the room "And just come out when yar ready".

Ororo nodded and made her way into the small bathroom, it was shiny and bright just like the med labs and Ororo quickly changed out of her clothes and folded them up, placing them next to the sink. Before she could undo her bra she heard voices next door, one male and two female. "I think it's time for a formal introduction" she heard Doctor Coe say.

"Yeah, sorry about that last time" she heard Logan grumble. Ororo leaned against the door, her gown falling on the ground as she pressed her ear against the metal. "Name's Logan" he said.

"And Ah'm Marie Darkholm"

"Oh doctor Darkholm!" she heard Coe say in surprise "Pleasure to meet you. I heard that you were the one who came up with the idea that Ororo stay here and I come to her"

"Ah'm sure you knew who Ah was already" Rogue laughed, "But yeah, that was meh. Anyway, Ah've been trying to monitor Ororo's progress and she has made it to the 2nd trimester perfectly. Morning sickness has come down"

"By a lot" Logan interjected "But I'm sure you know all of this already" he said under his breath.

"I know a lot of things _James_ but I chose not to assume, but rather ask." She said coldly "It is in the best interest that I don't tell people their futures and for you lot I see a lot going on. But I will never reveal what is going to happen to you, it could ruin the space of time if I tell you what happens"

Ororo heard Logan growl again and she knew that Logan only had so little time before he would try to do something regrettable. She quickly slid off her bra and pulled on her gown, tying it up in the back and pulling down her panties. She placed both of them on top of her clothes and opened the door to the lab. She saw Logan and Coe in a small face down. "Logan, please calm down." Ororo said to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He growled once more before he went to the closed door and leant on it. Ororo pulled herself onto the table and put her legs into the undignified position on the stirrups, she groaned to herself and she heard Logan chuckle. "Shut up" she snapped.

Rogue and Coe started to set up the medical equipment and Ororo looked over to Logan. He was staring at what Rogue and Coe were doing but Ororo whimpered once and Logan ran to her side, taking hold of her hand. "Sorry. I'm here, don't worry" he told her, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"Thanks" she told him, squeezing his hand due to the uncomfortable situation she was being put through. Finally she was ready to have the screen showed to her as the picture of her womb was showed and she could see her baby again.

Coe started to explain the procedure to Rogue and finally they stopped, Ororo leant up as she could see something. "Oh my Goddess" she muttered as she tried to get a closer look at the screen "Is that?"

"Yes" Coe said, she lifted her finger and pointed out the very small, but obvious shape, of a baby in black and white "That's your baby" she told Ororo and Logan. Ororo squeezed Logan's hand, smiling up at him as he gazed at the small picture on the screen.

"That's amazing" he whispered.

"I know" Ororo told him. "How is the baby?" Ororo asked.

Rogue squinted at the picture and looked at Coe, Coe gave her a nod and Rogue tried to explain how the baby was progressing "Its fine. Nothing out of the ordinary so far and the baby looks perfect for 3 months old. There are no signs of obvious mutations so far but they could turn up later. But other than that Ah see no problems"

Rogue pressed a few buttons, "Okay, I sent the picture to the printer so just go get dressed and we're all done here" Ororo leant back down as the doctors started to pack up the equipment. Finally she was free to get dressed again.

"When you get dressed we have a few things to discuss" Coe said quickly, still looking at the screen.

oOOo

Ororo sat on the examination table while Logan leaned against it next to her, but they were both looking unhappily at the picture that Ororo held in her hands, after their meeting with Coe she told them a few things that Ororo did not consider.

Mainly money.

"What are we supposed to do Logan?" she asked him finally. "The school does not have the money to even add on new rooms for the students, how we are supposed to afford so much for the child?"

"I have money 'Ro" Logan told her, turning around to her and making her look at him. "We can afford all the things we need-"

Ororo interrupted him, "Logan, it's not even about trying to afford things for the baby. We don't have to worry about bills and such since we live at the school, but what about the students. A crying baby isn't going to be easy on the children"

"Then what do you think we should do?" he asked her.

Ororo paused, nibbling her lip as she looked at the picture and back to Logan again "I think I'll have to move out" she whispered.

"No!" Logan growled, picking her off the table with such ease. Ororo yelped in surprise and Logan held onto her waist, "You can't move out! You just can't! The school is your home and I know it's killing you even thinking about moving out"

"I know Logan" Ororo said, shaking Logan's hands off her and walking away from him. She didn't look back as he followed her "But it's for the best"

"It's not the best for you if you are miserable" he hissed at her as she walked down the halls and to the elevator to get back to the real world "I see you when we have to leave the school for a mission for a few days. You hate it, I know you do"

She pressed the button on the elevator and it opened immediately, Ororo was gracious enough to leave enough room for Logan to fit in. "I do hate it, yes" she agreed as the doors slammed shut and she felt herself being pulled upwards. "But I have to think about what's best for everyone"

"Fuck that!" Logan practically yelled, Ororo frowned at him and turned away. "Just think about this for a second" he tried to say but was cut off as the elevator doors opened and Ororo left the elevator faster than him, Logan tried to grab her arm but Ororo pulled it out of his grip. But as she turned around to tell Logan to back off, she crashed into Warren.

"I'm sorry Warren" Ororo apologised, taking a step back as Warren turned around. Then Ororo noticed someone else standing next to Warren, holding a brief case and suit, "Oh, hello?" Ororo asked.

"I was just leaving Miss Munroe" the man said, walking away from Warren and to the door "I'll call you soon Warren" the man called out as he opened the door, shutting it behind him.

"Who the hell was that?" Logan growled.

Warren's wings flickered and he held out a blue print to Ororo. She took it from him and opened it up, showing a plan of a house. "I was talking to the architect about the house I just bought" he said.

"You bought a house?" Logan asked in disbelief, taking a side of the plan and pulling it out further. "I thought you were happy here?"

"I am" Warren said, taking the plan and pointing out where the house was located. Ororo looked at it and noticed it was the house next door, the house that was recently being sold and was apparently bought by Warren. "But we need more room at this school and I thought that we could make the house a boarding house with a few class rooms"

Ororo looked up at him and Warren was smiling down at her "But Warren, this is so- oh my Goddess"

Warren shrugged "It's nothing. I've had money put away for years and I finally have a good reason to use it. And I have another surprise for you" he said, he took the plans from Ororo and pulled out another one, this time it looked like just a few rooms. "I've been speaking to my architect and he says it is possible to fix up the rooms up in your apartment Ororo so that they will be completely sound proof."

"How did you know?" Ororo asked, giving him back the plans.

"Let's just say a little glove wearing birdie told me" he winked.

"So that means that you have to stay" Logan growled, pulling Ororo closer into his embrace. "No excuse now"

Ororo laughed and pulled away from Logan, before she turned her joyful gaze towards Warren who was watching with a silly smirk on his face "And Warren, if there is any way to repay you then I will gladly do it"

"No need Ororo" he said, he then held out his hand to her "But I would love to see the picture you just got?" he asked. Ororo smiled and looked in her book for the new picture she just got of her baby.

Remy came behind Ororo and looked over her shoulder at the picture she was about to hand over, "Hey, what's that?" Remy took held of it but Ororo did not let go but she looked up at him as he smiled goofily at it. "Aw, the baby has your eye's Stormy" he said. Ororo rolled her eyes and he just laughed and let go of the picture, "It's going to be a beautiful baby if it does look like you"

"Oh I want to see this too!" Emma said, coming to stand next to Warren, Bobby at her side with a pile of text books in each of their hands. Ororo handed the picture over to Warren and he looked at it fondly. He then let Emma and Bobby see it.

"Aw!" Emma said, putting her books into one arm so she could take the picture. She looked at the picture and back to Logan and Ororo, "I'm so happy for you both" she said in awe with a real smile on her face.

Bobby smiled at the picture to "It looks like a real baby!" he said.

"It is a real baby you prat" she snapped, turning to him but handing the picture carefully back to Ororo.

Ororo smiled at Emma, Bobby and Warren. Watching them as they started to talk about the new building and the improvements to Ororo's room, Logan held her closer and kissed the top of her head again before he joined in the conversation.

Her friends, she was so blessed when it came to them. Although they had a bumpy start to this whole pregnancy surprise her friends seemed genuinely happy about the baby, wanting to help, to see and to be part of this baby's future.

As Warren explained to the other males of the group about the new house the conversation dwindled a little and Ororo got out of Logan's strong grip "Well, I'm hungry." She told the group, "So I'm going to go get something to eat" the all nodded at her and Ororo took her leave.

She entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, but when she couldn't find what she was craving and shut the door in frustration she saw Emma standing in front of her, Ororo jumped back a little and held her hand to her heart. "Emma! Your frightened me"

Emma smiled and sadly. "Ororo about what I said before-" she started to say.

"I know you Emma" Ororo said, smiling at the young woman "You think it and you mean it but I know that you don't say what you are thinking deep down"

Emma blushed "But I'm still sorry. But can I say that deep down I am feeling so happy and a little bit jealous of you and you will believe me?" Ororo smiled at her and nodded, Emma smiled back at her "Thanks" she whispered.

Ororo smiled at the young girl and thought about how she was so distraught about Logan and then Emma bought her back into the real world, although her friends sometimes hurt her in the worst possible way but they helped her discover things, help her to be her, giving advice, protecting her, how her team mates were the ones who saved her all the time in battle and in the real world

"I really have you to thank. All of you" Ororo whispered.

**Hey, sorry this took so long, really sick at the moment plus I have like a million assessments to do...plus I do have a life outside! Anyway, this chapter has two parts to it, when Ororo hears about what her team really says about her and the other is about the money it's going to cost Ororo. I originally had this as two different chapters but when I started to write about Peter and the team talking about Ororo, then finding out she heard, I had to write in how they tried to make it up to her.**

**The bit about Logan hating the doctor's office is exactly what my friend says when I ask her why she doesn't like to go. **

**I promise I'm getting to the more action packed chapters soon enough, just got to get all this finiky stuff out of the way.**

**Review and make a little girl in Australia happy!**


	11. Sins

**Chapter 10**

**Sins**

Saturday evenings at Charles Xavier's school for gifted youngsters was either loud or quiet, (depending on what area you were situated at). On most Saturday nights the older students were out with friends or on dates leaving the younger children (those who still found talking with the opposite sex as appealing as doing extra credit) at the school to watch a movie together in the Rec room.

There were older students who did not wish to go out, or who were grounded, that chose to stay at the school. Either watching a more violent movie in the other Rec room or hiding up in their rooms doing study.

The students stayed pretty much apart, deciding on what their preference of movie was and sticking to that room. But on odd occasions a fight would break out, a person might be talking too much during the movie, or someone might have set something alight, it was the latter situation now that Ororo was running to. "What is going on in here?" she yelled the second she entered the room, followed closely by a Native American girl who had run to the teacher when the fight had broke out.

The other students (ranging from young teens to the elder ones) all turned to her at once, "Nothing professor" one of the blonde male students said, sitting back down. Ororo looked at the girl who followed her into the room, Danielle nodded her head towards the rug, signalling to Ororo that someone was being hidden.

The smell of burnt hair hit Ororo's nose when she drew closer to the group of students, Ororo walked around to the television and saw lying on the ground was a dark brown wolf with a burned patch of fur on it's side. Kneeling down Ororo made the wolf sit up but it simply flopped down on the ground again, "Rayne? Can you sit up please?" Ororo asked in a kindly voice, ignoring the glances the students made to each other while Ororo tried to talk to the wolf.

As if the small wolf sighed, it sat back up and looked at Ororo, it's large black eyes not moving from her face. "Please can you come back to your human form?" she asked. The wolf shook its head "Why not?" Ororo asked, the wolf pawed Ororo's cloth covered knee and whined, Ororo frowned and looked back to the other students in the room, who all looked away quickly "Who has her clothes?" Ororo said in a dangerous voice.

The students avoided her gaze but as Ororo looked around she noticed one boy push something under the pillow he was sitting on, Ororo got up and walked over to Jimmy (a playful boy that had a problem with following the group, even if it lead him to trouble, but they found him useful as he could cancel out other's powers) and held out her hand to him "Hand them over, now" she commanded.

Jimmy looked away from her and stuck his hand under the pillow and bought out a pair of sweat pants, underwear and blue tank top, Ororo snatched them off him "I will be back in a moment for a punishment for you and those involved in this" she told him.

Jimmy and the other students went back to watching the movie and Ororo and Danielle walked out the room with the wolf, Rayne, following them to the bathroom. Ororo handed the clothes to Danielle "Could you help her please? Just calm her down" she asked.

"Yes professor" Danielle said, taking the clothes and pulling the wolf into the bathroom, Ororo opened the door for them and waited in the hall for them to finish. Rayne Sinclair was a shy girl, able to take the form of a wolf she should have been a bit vicious, but she was a kind girl. She just had a slight problem trying to defend herself, which is where her friendship with Danielle, Tabitha and Amara (both of the latter out with each other) came in handy, as they were all slightly hot headed.

"What are you doing?" someone asked her, making Ororo jump as she had not expected someone to come to her in the hall, thinking that everyone with a voice that age would be watching some movie rated PG.

Ororo turned around and saw the pink haired Megan looking at her, her day clothes still on but still in perfect condition despite the rather humid day. Megan had decided to come in every day of the week and hung around the school until late as possible before someone took her home on a weekend and the last bus came on a weekday. Megan occasionally talked to the other children but when someone didn't interest her she simply walked away.

In a way Megan reminded Ororo of a free agent, Megan could come and go as she pleased and if she didn't agree with something or she happened to get bored then she could easily leave and move to another group or go home completely and come back the next day and start anew. "Rogue told me to come get you as there is a mission concerning a certain mutant" Megan told Ororo.

Ororo was about to open her mouth to speak when the girls left the bathroom, one of which had a burnt patch in her short brown hair, the teenager looked at Ororo "I'll speak to you later Rayne, okay?" Ororo dismissed. Rayne nodded and Danielle took her kindly back to their room.

Ororo looked back to Meagan and followed her to the elevator "Did Rogue say which Mutant?" Ororo asked.

Megan shook her head and pressed the button "No, but Logan said that the 'blue fuzzy elf' better have a good excuse for messing up. I think that's a bit unfair, it couldn't possibly be the mutant's fault-"

"Wait" Ororo said, cutting Megan off "Did you say 'blue fuzzy elf'?"

"Yes" the young girl replied slowly, saying it as though she explained it a million times and she had to explain it once more.

Ororo smiled brightly and walked happily in to the elevator behind Megan. This fuzzy blue elf that Megan was talking about was obviously the very special and extremely talented Kurt Wagner also known as Nightcrawler, a teleporter.

Kurt had been part of the X men a while back, after they saved him from Stryker, but he quit due to the X men being too violent for Kurt's gentle nature. Ororo was surprised that he quit and a little depressed, Kurt had been one of her closet friends and she felt he was abandoning her. Jean had passed away, Scott had locked himself away in his own mind, Logan was trying to help out Xavier by taking over the danger room and Kurt was just...there.

Kurt was also Ororo religious guide, he just made her calmer somehow. The only way she ever felt as calm was to go up into the sky and just keep going, or spending time with her plants. But Kurt had this sort of aura that seemed to make everything around him just look better than it really was.

The young blue man was orphaned, like herself, but unlike Ororo, Kurt was given to a family that raised him as their own and was later raised as part of their travelling act, hiding him with excuses that his blue skin and tail was a costume. Kurt was found in America by Stryker and the rest, as they say, was history.

Ororo smiled slightly at the memory of Kurt trying to scare Wolverine, but instead landed on his head, making Ororo laugh and the very solemn Scott crack a smile for a second before he was moody once more and left the room. It was the last smile that Ororo saw on Scott's face.

As the elevator hissed open Megan led Ororo down the corridors, moving closer to Cerebro but stopping to a room just next to it, Megan turned around and entered the code for the door (which Ororo wondered how she got) and let Ororo pass. The door hissed shut behind Ororo and she crossed the room to stand near the projection of Boston, exactly where they found Kurt the first time.

"What has happened?" she asked.

"I picked up a disturbance near the cathedral in central Boston." Emma explained, pressing a few buttons and making the projection move so a larger vision of the building she was talking about was shown "Kurt Wagner, aka, Nightcrawler, has been discovered by humans. From what I could tell he tried to make a break for it, but the entire city is out to get him"

"But couldn't he just transport himself to another town?" Bobby asked, walking around the diagram and watching it as it changed locations randomly, as if in the same pattern as Kurt itself.

"He cannot go any further than what he can see" Emma said to him "If he wasn't trapped in the middle of the city he could get away, but with the whole city looking for him and him getting tired eventually, I say Kurt has not got long"

"Then we have to leave now" Ororo told them, already making a move for the door but was stopped when Gambit put his hand on her shoulder.

"How are we supposed to find him? He could literally be anywhere in the city. And if those humans couldn't find him in the hours that they have been chasing him, how are we supposed to?"

"We go to the city, stand in the middle and jump up and down." Ororo said sarcastically, Remy frowned at her "I don't know Remy, we look for him. Unlike those humans we have other ways to find Kurt, such as actual knowledge of where he would most likely hide out and we, oh I don't knew, have powers"

"_D'accord!_ I get it Stormy!" Remy said, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. "Just didn't know you knew the little blue man"

"Well we do" Rogue told him "Ahnd that little blue man happened to save my life, idiot"

"How should I ever thank him?" Gambit asked, taking Rogue in his arms while she hit him away feebly. "This mutant has done us all a favour and saved our Rogue from death"

"Don't let go of meh in one second and nothing will save ya from certain death" Rogue threatened, going for her glove and started to lift it away, Remy quickly backed away from Rogue who gave a satisfied smile.

Logan nodded his head "Right, right" he muttered. "I just hope the blue elf hasn't gotten himself into too much trouble"

"Who's going to keep an eye on the kids?" Bobby asked "I know Remy is because he isn't exactly an X-man yet...but who's going to keep an eye on Gambit?"

"Ah will" Rogue volunteered, "that swamp rat ain't gonna teach the kids no more card games"

"I never told them to play _strip _poker!" he told her, but Rogue simply rolled her eyes.

"Fine" Ororo said, cutting Remy off from a rant "Just as long as you keep an eye on the children. The rest of you prepare for the mission, I will fly the jet"

Suddenly the whole team jumped up at once, "You can't come!" Logan said immediately.

"Says who?" Ororo retorted.

"Says me!"

"Yeah Ororo" Emma agreed, "Don't you think it's a little dangerous? I can fly the jet just fine, you can stay here"

"I disagree with you being able to fly" Logan told Emma as kindly as possible (which was still far from nice) "but Ororo you can't come!"

"Guys look" Peter said, standing up and standing next to Ororo "She wants to go, that's that, we just have to respect Storm's decision and try to help her out as much as possible" he turned around slightly and winked at Ororo, who smiled kindly back, but her kind smile turned into one of victory the second his back was turned, mostly aimed at Logan. "She's coming"

Logan growled and came so close to Peter's nose that they were barely an inch apart "Give me once good reason why she should go" he hissed, but Peter did not flinch.

"Because I want to" Ororo told him calmly, coming to Peter's side. "I want to go. I want to see my friend" When Logan still didn't move Ororo sighed and rolled her eyes, "Okay, everyone who wants to go, go get dressed. Logan, you can come now or you can stay here and try to argue still. Just do something that doesn't involve Peter so _he _can get dressed"

Ororo knocked him forcefully aside as she passed, shaking her head as she did. It annoyed her to no end when she had someone telling her what to do, she was her own person, for goodness sake. She had been able to control her life perfectly before and since Logan came along, so what if sometimes she didn't make the right decisions (her life as a thief, almost getting herself killed countless times, her pregnancy) but at least she knew when she was in too deep and could pull herself out.

There have been fights where she had to be forced to pull out, but usually she was the one telling the team that they had to pull out and come up with a new plan. Logan was usually the fool with the 'foolproof' plan, his plan usually involved slashing a large amount of people with his claws until they won.

Sometimes it wasn't the best idea.

As Ororo twisted the lock she watched out the corner of her eye as Logan and Peter walked into the locker room, both going to their own lockers on opposite sides of the room and going for their leather uniforms.

Then something stuck Ororo, what if she couldn't fit into her uniform? She glanced around the room quickly at the others who were in different forms of undress or going into the more private dressing room. Ororo nibbled her lip and hung her outfit over her arm and slammed her locker shut.

If she couldn't fit into her uniform she wanted to do it at least in the privacy of another room, that way she could cry freely. She waited as Emma left the room in her own version of the uniform (her mid-driff exposed and a cape added on the back) "All yours" she said smiling.

Ororo only nodded in response as she shut the door behind her. She only had so long before she couldn't go back on her promise that she was going, if this uniform didn't fit, then to put it politely, she was going to be so screwed. Everything that she had been saying was going to go down the drain, the way Peter so graciously defended her would be for nothing and Logan was going to be very smug with himself...and Ororo _really _didn't want that.

She quickly pulled off her clothes and shoes, then she pulled her leather outfit on over her legs, pulling them up over her hips, then she took off her bra and pulled her arms through. Ororo positioned the leather so it was just covering her breasts, then she took held of the zipper and turned to the mirror.

If her uniform didn't fit then that was it, her life as an X-man was partially over. But she was determined to make it fit, so with a strong grip on her zipper she pulled it up. She pulled it past her belly button, holding her breath in as she did, the big test was going to get past that point and up to her neck.

Ororo held her breath and pulled the zipper to her throat then she exhaled and grinned at herself at the mirror, it still fit!

She was still an X-man! Ororo did a very small happy dance in the dressing room before she remembered she had to go save a certain blue mutant.

Ororo pushed open the door and saw the others were all dressed and just pulling back hair (Emma) or telling Remy to behave himself (Logan), "Okay, the mission idea is to go in and find Kurt, then to return to the jet" she yelled to the group, they all turned to her and looked at her expectantly as she flipped her cape behind her. "Do not try to harm the humans unless they try to hurt you"

"Got it!" Logan growled, but Ororo wondered if he was paying attention to what she said as he had began to play with his claws, making them pop out of his fist and back in again. But she knew he heard every word when she saw his eyes follow her as she walked past him and to the doors of the aircraft hangar.

oOOo

The _Blackbird _landed gracefully on top of one of the taller and larger buildings in Boston, the small ramp then slid out from underneath it and 6 people walked off the jet, looking over the side of the building for any signs of a mob chasing a blue puff of sulphur which could easily be identified as Nightcrawler...if they ever caught him. "How are we ever going to find him?" Bobby asked. "He could be anywhere in the city!"

"We all have are communicators, split up and just look for him. If anyone find him just tell him we are there to help and call in the others" Ororo told them, watching as they all turned on their communicators as she spoke, she turned on her own and walked to the ledge of the building "Report back here in an hour if you are unsuccessful" she told them. Then she jumped off the side of the building.

If a normal person (or even Mutant) did this then they were in for certain death, but for Mutants like Ororo she was able to manipulate the winds to carry her over the buildings, as if she were flying. Across from her Ororo could see Warren take off into the sky, his large wings flapping in the breeze as he went north, the others would all make their ways down to the ground before they tried to find Nightcrawler.

Ororo felt the air whip past her face and she knew she was being foolish for not pulling up and flying straight but the feeling of the air flowing past her just made all her recent troubles and concerns fly away, it was cleansing and refreshing, as the air was pure and free, it had no master, no responsibilities. She was only a few yards above the ground before she pulled up and flew back up again, going vertical as she passed the windows on the buildings opposite her before she could finally see the top of the buildings again and fly straight above the city, her eyes peeled for any sign of her friend.

It was going to be tricky trying to find Kurt, he was a master of the shadows, being a Mutant with such an obvious mutation Kurt had to hide often and was good at running and fighting, but mostly he hid from people. From stories that he told Ororo, he told of situations where he was so tired from jumping from spot to spot that he had to hide anywhere he could, some of the places that Kurt hid were truly interesting and they always had a good laugh when he told Ororo that he was hiding right over the mob's heads and they didn't even realise it.

Speaking of a mob, Ororo flew over one that was made up of mainly adult men and women, but there were also a few teen boys. They ran in a completely different direction to a group of teen girls, but all were aiming for the same thing, from what Ororo could tell. There weren't exactly that many 'Blue freaky things' that could 'Bamf' out of nowhere.

Ororo felt the communicator go off and she answered it as she landed on top of a building. "Storm" she answered in a formal tone.

"_Ice man, I think I have a lead" _she heard Bobby say, Ororo flew a few yards above the building and saw someone moving over the city on a slope made of ice _"I think I see him going East"_

"Tell Wolverine and White Witch, they can catch him easily. I'm going to stay on this side of the city just to keep an eye on the mobs" she told him.

"_Right, over and out" _and Ororo was greeted with static. Ororo jumped up again and fell of the building, but after a mile of falling she pulled up and started to fly over the buildings, she had frequent calls from her team mates, telling her that Kurt was going in almost every direction. Ororo always told them to keep on track and try to corner him at some point if possible.

After a half hour Ororo grew tired, before she left Rogue had told her that because of the pregnancy she may get more tired than usual, being so low to the ground Ororo could not summon the energy to fly up and try to sit on top of a building to rest. She would only need a moment to sit, so Ororo rounded another corner and noticed an alley way, looking quickly and seeing no one running that way, Ororo landed on the ground and took a peak into the dark alley.

Just as she thought, no one was in there. Ororo ventured deeper and suddenly felt hands around her neck. But what this person didn't know was that Ororo was a trained fighter. Quickly she turned a little and grabbed the arms that held her, lifting them away from her neck and flipping the arm over her head, the body to follow after it.

Ororo started to make a run for it, trying to get up into the air and get away from this mugger. This however wasn't what she got, the person jumped up again and pinned Ororo to the wall with great strength, Ororo made sure to keep her hands in front of her stomach so to cushion the wall from it. Ororo to head butt the person away but he saw this coming and held her face against the wall with his hand. "What do you want from me?" she hissed but received no answer as the person felt around her waist.

Ororo was about to be violated, she would be assaulted if she didn't get away soon! She had to get out but this person was just too strong for her.

At least she always had plan B.

Ororo gritted her teeth as she tried to summon up her power but she felt the hand that held her head against the wall back away and she was free again. Ororo jumped away from the wall quickly and turned around to see the person who had tried to feel her up.

Instead she was met with the blue face of Kurt Wagner. "Kurt?" she said, reaching for him but at the same time trying to creep back.

"Ororo! I am zo zorry! I thought you were von of zem!" he said, backing away from her and holding out his hands in front of him. His old clothes were baggier and ripped, his face gaunt, but even with his vast differences his yellow eyes still looked innocent and light, "Vhat are you doing here?" he asked.

"I should ask you what you were doing feeling me up!" she snapped harshly.

Kurt smiled sheepishly and his tail hovered near his face, holding the knife that Ororo hid in her belt. "I vas simply checking for veapons, in case you vere one of zem." He said, nodding towards the entrance of the ally way "But when I saw ze X on ze knife, your uniform and ze hair I knew it vas you"

His tail flickered over to Ororo and she took the knife, sticking it back into her belt and looking back to the blue Mutant "What are you doing in Boston?" she asked.

"A...number of reasons" Kurt shrugged, he grinned happily and Ororo ran to him, evolving him into a giant hug which he returned happily. "You don't know how much I've missed you all" he said, stroking her back. Ororo smiled into his shoulder but felt the buzzing of her communicator on her hip.

Ororo pulled away and held a finger to Kurt's face as she answered the call. "Storm here"

"_Wolverine" _she was answered with _"I saw Nightcrawler head west a few minutes ago, I tried to follow him but I was blocked off_-_" _

"I've got him right here" Ororo said to Logan "Where are you?"

"_We were all set to corner the elf near the park"_

"We're pretty close to there. Look, I'll pick up the jet, all of you run to the park and we'll pick you up."

"_Okay, better make it fast Storm...but stay safe"_

Ororo grinned to herself "Okay, over and out" she then clicked off and grabbed Kurt's hand. "We have to go. You can't stay in Boston"

"On a usual day I would say I vould rather stay...today however I vill gladly come vith you" he then grabbed her hand and Ororo saw the familiar sign that Kurt was trying to teleport. Ororo ripped her hand from his grip just as Kurt teleported, a second later he appeared in front of her again and grabbed her shoulders. "Vhat are you doing! Ve have to go!" he then tried to teleport again but Ororo jumped from his hands.

"I can't Kurt!"

"Vhy not?"

"Because I'm pregnant and I don't know what teleporting will do to the baby" she blurted out. She clamped her hands over her mouth and Kurt's eyes widened in surprise.

"Your vhat!" he cried out.

"Kurt, I know it's against your religion in every way possible but believe me when I saw that this baby is the best thing that has happened to me so far in this life" she tried to say quickly, but faltered when Kurt's eyes returned to normal but he still didn't speak. "Kurt, say something" she pleaded.

There was a pause then Kurt ran to her and almost strangled her as he hugged her "Ororo, Zhat is the most vonderful zing I ever heard! You have a little one on za way!"

"Kurt, can't breathe!" she gasped.

"Oh zorry" he said, letting her go. He then looked quickly around them, thinking hard "How are ve supposed to get to ze jet?" he asked. Grinning, Ororo flew slightly above him and held him under his arms, lifting him off the ground. "Okay, zis is freaky" Kurt squeaked from under her, but Ororo just laughed. She glided through the city, moving higher and higher, she could see the jet only a few buildings away but Kurt yelped again and struggled a little in her arms.

"Calm down Kurt, we are almost there" although she laughed as she said it.

"Don't laugh!" he yelled at her, but it just made her laugh harder. "I'm just glad that if you drop me I'll be okay"

The landed perfectly on the top of the building and Ororo opened the jet, "Get in the jet, we have to fly to the park and pick up the rest of the team before the mob discovers I've got you" she opened the door to the jet and both mutants ran on.

Ororo quickly turned the jet on and strapped herself into the chair, watching as Kurt strapped himself into the chair next to her. While Ororo tried to concentrate on the flashing buttons the insane smile on Kurt's face distracted her just a little bit. "What are you so happy about?" she asked as she felt the rumble of the jet starting to fly.

"Notzing much, just zat I'm glad to see all of you alive and vell again...I have not been able to use any technology for ze last year and last that I heard waz zat you vere all facing big problems with ze Brotherhood and Magneto"

"Oh, that was simple enough. Magneto is very tame. We, in fact, were wondering if _you_ were still alive" Ororo told Kurt, she flicked one more switch and the _Blackbird _hovered over the building before taking off, it wasn't fast but it wasn't slow, just enough so that Ororo could try and find the patch of green in a grey city. Ororo looked to the navigator and saw sets of blinking lights which were the homing devices of her team mates below her.

Ororo jetted down quickly and landed, letting the ramp slide slowly. Ororo tapped the wheel impatiently as she waited for the team to run onto the jet. "Great timing" she heard Bobby greet her as he ran onto the jet. "One of the mobs is right behind us and they look pretty pissed off"

"Why?" asked Ororo as she pressed the necessary buttons to take off.

Emma laughed cruelly "Because Bobby made an ice patch in the middle of the road and they all slipped" she snorted again, Ororo even cracking a smile. Emma walked to the seat where Kurt was currently occupying it. "Uh, could you move please" Kurt quickly shuffled out of his seat and landed in the one across from Logan while Emma sat down in her seat and strapped herself in, going into pilot mode.

Together Ororo and Emma prepared the jet for flight, "Brace yourself" Ororo told them "We are going to have to take off pretty fast" she heard the normal buckling of people behind her. She turned to Emma who gave a quick nod, signalling that she was ready to co-pilot. And then Ororo took off into the sky as fast as she could.

The rumble of the jet was overwhelming until they finally reached the level where they flew just under the clouds and were slowly making their way up and out of Boston. Ororo smiled to herself, they were taking Kurt home.

oOOo

After almost an hour in the air Ororo grew restless, she wanted to desperately know what her friend was doing back in Boston after he said he was in Germany for the last couple of years. She unlocked her belt and looked over to Emma who was staring glassy eyed into the clouds. "Emma, could you take over for awhile?" she asked.

"Sure!" Emma said happily, then pressed the required buttons so she was in control of the jet. Ororo got out of her seat and saw that Logan was behind her in a sort of sleep, she brushed his arm and moved on to the seats at the very back of the jet where Kurt was currently occupying.

Reminding herself of the first time she really talked to Kurt Wagner, Ororo sat down next to him, seeing the Hail Mary in his blue fingers. "I have to ask Kurt, what are you doing back in Boston? We haven't heard from you in years and the week you come back to America everyone has heard about you"

"I have...many reasons to return" he told her, counting another bead.

"But which ones?" Ororo asked. When Kurt looked away from him she rubbed his arm "Kurt, I just want to know if someone forced you to come here or because you wanted to come back"

Kurt gave a humourless laugh and started on his story, as though Ororo was only hearing it for the first time "I lived with my circus show ever zince I vas found as a baby, 8 years ago the circus was bought by an American. Another mutant child at the circus told me zat ze American planned to zell uz mutants out for cash so I had to leave my family in order to protect za mutant children. Ve vere on the run for a year before Stryker caught up vith me, you knew what happened to me after zat but ze children were taken to various places, some even went back to your school. After Jean died I went back to Germany to try and find my adoptive family. As you can see I was unsuccessful" he said, lifting his shoulders in a shrug.

"But what are you doing in Boston? Out of every city you came back to the one that we found you in, what has Boston got to offer you?"

"My muzzer" he whispered, Ororo blinked. Kurt was back in America to look for his biological mother? Ororo was so amazed at his answer that she didn't even hear him start his story again, but she was able to bring herself back to this world as he explained his answer to her.

"I heard that she was in America and zat I got a lead a couple of months back zat she was in Boston. I've been looking up all za Mutants in the city trying to find her but I had no luck after a few months I started to lose hope...zen I got to thinking about ze X men again. After watching so much pain and confusion, I wazen't able to help the veak, there was one of me and so many of _zem. _I was able to zend the children being chased into a safe direction but I couldn't help zem all. I started to miss working az a team, a little"

"I was sleeping in the church, and I was going to travel back to New York tonight but a few hours ago, when I woke up I turned over a little too far and fell, landing in ze middle of a bunch of people." He laughed slightly, "I guess I shall never find my muzzer but at least I found you" he smiled.

Ororo swallowed "You wanted to join us again?" she asked. Kurt nodded in agreement and Ororo let a small squeal escape her lips before she squeezed Kurt into a giant hug.

"Can't breathe!" he squeaked out. Ororo realised him but held onto his shoulders, his yellow eyes and pointed tail would look so demonic on another person but they just looked right on him. Made him different just like her. He was nowhere near the demon that people portrayed him as, he was really the sweet little elf that Logan always called him.

oOOo

"And this is your room" Ororo said to Kurt as she pushed open a door. They walked inside and Ororo gestured to all the aspects of the room, Kurt had only just told his story to the others and Ororo was simply showing him around the school he had left so long ago. Rogue was ecstatic to see him again, and he to her, they were like siblings who had not seen each other in a while.

If there was a relationship closer than Ororo's and Kurt's it was Rogue's and Kurt's. Almost like Rogue and Logan, Kurt and her got off to not such a good start, but they soon found mutual ground. The fact that people ran from them before they really knew the person behind the power was something they had in common. Rogue yelled the second he got home and punched him playfully, telling him that they would catch up after he sorted out a few things.

"If you have any questions just ask me" Ororo finished as she made her way to the door "I'll let you get settled, you must have had a long time running"

"It's not so bad" Kurt shrugged, but fell down on his bed all the same. "Just nice to be in a room again"

Concerned Ororo stepped closer to him "When was the last time you were in a real room?" she asked softly.

Kurt paused, then pushed himself and propped himself up on his elbows, "You know, I can't remember za last time" he said to Ororo but she suspected he was saying it to himself. The was a small knock on the door and Ororo turned around to see Megan standing there, her small wings flickering. "Guten Abend wenig eins" Kurt greeted her in fluent German.

"Guten Abend" Megan repeated to him. "And I am not small" she pouted.

Kurt gave her a cheeky grin, "Ah, za girl knows German" he said, Megan blushed.

"What do you need Megan?" Ororo asked.

"Mr Logan is looking for you" Megan told her.

"Okay, thank you for telling me. You should call your aunt so she can pick you up, or at least make arrangements to stay here for the evening, it's very late Megan" she said to Megan, giving her a slight push out the door, Ororo turned back to Kurt and smiling sweetly to him "Sorry, this must be important" she apologised.

Kurt chuckled "Za fazzer of the child always is"

Ororo paused at the door, turning towards Kurt as he laid back on his bed. How had he known about Logan being the father of her unborn child? Ororo didn't remember telling him at all about Logan, she wasn't even that 'friendly' towards Logan anywhere near Kurt. Kurt sat up on his bed again and looked at Ororo in concern "What is wrong?" he asked.

"How did you know that it was Logan?" she asked.

Kurt shrugged and gave a small smile "I see za vay you look him, the vay your eyes just light up vhen he says zomething kind towards you"

Ororo sighed heavily "I'm sorry to sound so personal, but do you think I'm wrong for keeping this child?" she asked him, he look dumbfounded and walked over to her, his face serious for once.

"Vhat do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, do you think I was stupid for getting myself pregnant" she asked, holding her hand over her stomach, drawing a small circle with her finger.

"Yes and no" he said "I zink zat getting yourself pregnant was a_ fehler_ but you are far from stupid. Before I left the first time I saw za vay you looked at ze children, how you vanted to keep zem forever but you had to let zem go every year."

Ororo sniffled slightly and Kurt grabbed onto her hand, his large 3 fingered hand covered her own chocolate hand with a comfortable gesture "You look zo happy now. I zlightly dizapprove of the vay the child was conceived but za child is a gift from God, I see zat he has made you so happy with zis child and Logan looks almost care free"

Ororo laughed slightly "Thanks Kurt, knowing that someone here only disapproves of the way the baby was conceived not the child in general has actually made my night, but it can't compare to how happy I am to have you back here again"

Kurt laughed as well and gave Ororo back her hand "Anyzing zat makes you happy is totally vorth it" he said "You had better find Logan before he tries to find you" he gave her a playful push into the direction of the stairs before he went back to his room to talk rest.

Ororo smiled to herself, one of her closest friends was back to stay for a while but instead of being upset with what he thought he should be Kurt was just following his religion (the whole 'sex before marriage' deal) he was happy over Ororo's 'gift from god' and although Ororo did not follow his religion he had the same idea that she had.

That this baby was a gift.

**Sorry this took so long...again. Anyway, the mob bit about the girls? Well, in Australia recently Justin Beiber had a concert in Sydney and this being the only concert in Australia thousands of teen girls flocked to Sydney to only be disappointed that Justin had to cancel on them. For a moment let's visualise 58/60 **_**thousand **_**girls going nuts over this cancelled concert, so they run amok. It's hilarious to see all these girls going in mobs around the city trying to find Justin Beiber (most epic scene where they think they have found Justin's car, the mob chases after it to only have half the mob turn back and go the other way for some weird reason)!**

**Seriously! Justin Beiber? I just think he sounds and looks like a 12 year old boy! (if you disagree leave a comment) so that's my inspiration for the mob bit.**

**Happy new, my teacher at school is pregnant! We are all so happy for her, and she makes the 3rd teacher to become pregnant this year! It's amazing! Me and my friends have a joke saying that the pregnant teachers are trying to take over with their hormones. **

**So congratulations to my teachers and to all of your friends/family/teachers if they are pregnant! **

**BTW, you know how I said SHEILD for the first couple chapters? Total mental blank, meant to say M.R.D so I've gone back and re-edited. So just to make that clear, it's M.R.D people!**

**Review and make a little girl in Australia happy.**


	12. Family Matters

**Chapter 11**

**Family Matters**

"Breathe in" Ororo said in a soothing voice to her blue friend, both mutants were sitting side by side underneath a tree in the early morning. It was seemingly quiet Monday morning and when Ororo came across Kurt during the early hours of the day she asked if he would like to come do yoga with her, which he agreed. "And breathe out" she said, doing as she said.

"Breathe in" she said again, moving so that she was in a pose with her hands and knees on the ground and holding herself like a dog, Kurt was doing the same and thankfully was having no problems with balancing, unlike Logan who wanted to join her once but fell over much too often and got frustrated. "And breathe out" she said softly.

They then held that pose for a couple of seconds before moving to a sitting position and sat there, just breathing, Kurt was wearing more comfortable clothes, baggy, but they were better off than his old outfit they found him in. Ororo was displeased with what she wore now as she actually had to start wearing looser things.

Yes, that was right, at 4 months pregnant Ororo was starting to show. It wasn't much but because of Ororo's original slim body the baby bump was more obvious, it was still at that awkward place where she simply looked fat, but it was also on its way s to look like a baby bump. This morning she was wearing a pair of grey sweat pants and tight tank top, the bump utterly obvious beneath the fabric, Ororo and Kurt had ditched their shoes and preferred to get a bit more back to nature. "And bring yourself back to earth" she said aloud, and then she opened her eyes.

"Vell thank you for including me in zat" Kurt told her, she moved her body around and faced him tucking her feet under her body, while he lifted one knee up and held it to his body.

"Thank you for joining me" she answered.

They had a pregnant pause (no pun intended) before someone spoke again "How does it feel?" Kurt asked her, head cocked to the side.

"How does what feel?"

"Being za host of a new life?" he asked her. Ororo looked down to her protruding stomach, an unconsciously raised hand rose to it and was simply holding her baby that rested inside her. "I know people must have asked you zat already, but could you tell me?"

Ororo nibbled her lip and looked out to the sky, the sunrise making the sky red and pink "It feels" she paused, weighing her words "Strange, at times. To know that a person is actually dependant on me. But Logan has been fantastic, helping whenever he can"

"Ah yes, the relationship between you and Logan" Kurt said with a grin, sitting up with a little perkiness that most people are envious of in the morning. "How is that going exactly?"

"Well, it's, uh, I mean to say, you know" Ororo stuttered, tripping over her words. She knew she was blushing as the look of pure laughter crossed Kurt's face and he burst out with this feeling. "Ugh" Ororo said, hitting her head against Kurt's shoulder. "Stop laughing, the baby hormones are getting me down"

"Aw, I'm zorry" Kurt said, but Ororo knew he didn't mean it, as he was still laughing as he hugged her. Ororo laughed as well, sure the baby made her hormones go crazy at times, but she was glad she at least had her friends and Logan by her side.

From in the school yelling voices started up, students waking up already, someone would address the problem soon, Ororo dismissed. But another more horrible screeching noise emitted from the school, this scream was so loud it would most likely be heard half way to New York City.

Ororo and Kurt clamped their hands over their ears, trying to block out the noise, but when it stopped suddenly it wasn't as wonderful as someone might suppose it would be to have their ear drums stop ringing, the girl screaming would have been hurt and wasn't able to scream anymore.

Kurt stood up suddenly, putting out his hand and helping Ororo up. They started to run to the school, leaving their shoes behind in their rush, inside the school they saw that a majority of the students were indeed awake and were running around the school.

"Silence!" Ororo yelled, a crack of lightning sounding behind her, everyone stopped running and looked at her with fear "What is going on here?" she asked.

"There is a strange woman in the school Professor Munroe!" Sam Guthrie yelled, shooting like a cannonball through the hall to stand in front of her, his blonde hair swept to the side. "She's a mutant but we've never seen her before"

"Back up Sam" Ororo said, holding onto Sam's shoulder to stop him from jumping around "Start from the beginning, what happened?"

"I don't know the whole thing, but Jimmy does" he said, upon saying the name a boy with pale skin that he never seemed to get over came forward, it was the same Jimmy from the Rayne incident just the other week but this time instead of looking slightly cocky with a prank he just pulled, Jimmy looked terrified.

With Jimmy's power he was able to take away other people's power if they were to stand close enough, of course his power was evolving so that he was able to turn the power off, sort of like Rogue and her power which she mastered. But also like Rogue he was not completely safe yet so Jimmy wasn't allowed to stand anywhere near rapid healers (aka Logan) or anyway who depended on their powers for life.

"I was trying to find Artie this morning" he started "When I saw someone on the sofa, I walked over to them to make sure they were okay and suddenly she woke up, well, my mutation started to get out of control and this woman totally freaked out, screaming at me to shut down my power but I couldn't. Then Theresa walked in and saw this woman standing fully naked and yelling me and Theresa started to scream, waking the whole school, this woman then ran over to Theresa and knocked her out"

"Oh my goddess, what happened to her?" Ororo muttered, holding her hand to her mouth.

Tabitha ran forward, her artfully ripped tank top and bed messed hair alerting Ororo that most of the students had just got out of bed "It's okay, Doctor Darkholme is with her, but everyone is in a really big panic" Tabitha's friends nodded behind her, all of them in states of semi-dress or still clad in pyjamas.

"Who is this woman?" Ororo asked them

"We don't know, all we know is that the second she got away from me, she turned blue" Jimmy finished.

Ororo and Kurt's eyes widened. They knew this blue woman, she was the vengeful, talented, mysterious person known only as Mystique.

"Everyone find a roommate of yours, ask them something that only they know and return to your rooms immediately. We have a shape shifter in the mansion" of course when Ororo said this she expected everyone to panic (to which they did) but she was far from this.

She and Kurt started to run to the direction of the Rec. Room where they found Rogue and the teachers all surrounding a passed out Theresa. Logan ran over to her and held her to his chest, holding her close as he interrogated Kurt on where Ororo had been and what she had heard already. Ororo didn't care that he wasn't asking her these things, just cared that it was him holding her.

How did she know it was Logan? Most people think they know a person but Ororo proved them wrong, she knew that it was him when he ran to her immediately and held her, opposed to running to her and asking Ororo if it was really her. Everyone knew that Logan could smell the scent of a person so he need not waste time by asking her silly questions to find out if she said who she said she was.

The person everyone was so afraid of was a woman called Mystique, who even with her powers to look like anyone, she still chose to be blue. Not much was known about Mystique, only bits and pieces, mostly because Mystique could clean up after herself, no one would ever know she was in the mansion at all if it weren't for Jimmy and Theresa.

The reason that all these people were so worried about this particular shape shifter was because Mystique's apparent hate of the X men, as seen numerous amounts of time over the last couple of years before she was forcibly given the cure, to which they never heard from Mystique again. Of course they had no idea if the cure even worked on her, if she stayed permanently as a human or she was painfully turned back into her blue body.

Due to new information, it was wholly obvious that indeed she was a mutant once more. The question was why on earth she was sleeping in a school full of mutant children and people she apparently hated? And another, why didn't she kill Theresa and Jimmy for finding out about her, Ororo knew that Mystique didn't even need a weapon to kill a person, just her bare hands was enough.

"What is she doing here?" Ororo mumbled into Logan's chest, feeling him rub her back, but Ororo wasn't comforted, this woman tried to kill them all and they had no idea what she looked like, which only made the whole situation worse. She could be anyone and they wouldn't notice until it was too late.

"I don't know" Logan muttered into her hair, pulling her away from him and then bending down slightly and giving her a swift kiss on the lips, making Ororo's heart flutter. She moved away from her mouth and looked her dead in the eye "But we'll find her" he promised.

"Guys! Hello!" Remy yelled across the room, "Slight catastrophe on our hands and you guys decide to make out?"

"Shut up Gambit!" Logan yelled back, but taking Ororo and holding her at the small of her back, leading her back to the others. "So what do we know about Mystique so far"

"She's an evil bitch?" Rogue guessed, still fanning Theresa to wake her.

"Maybe a deeper look" Warren told her, to which she poked her tongue at him and he gave her a playful slap on the head before turning back to the rest "All I know about the woman is that she can mimic anyone, but she is unable to mimic powers"

"And she's blue" Kurt added.

"Thanks for that" Bobby said, rolling his eyes, with Kurt muttering that he found the blue factor quite interesting. "But I doubt that she's blue now, god only knows who she is"

"So where does that leave us?" Gambit asked, playing with a card in his hands "What do we do to find this 'blue woman'?"

Unfortunately no one was able to answer him as someone out in the hall yelped. At once, all able bodied teachers (excluding Rogue who was still trying to wake the sleeping Siryn) ran for the voice, Ororo was just as fast as the others, her stomach hadn't yet slowed her down yet. They ran to the room next door and saw Sally, an older girl with a bob blonde hair, standing over Megan who was lying on the ground. "I'm so sorry!" Sally said, covering her mouth with her hands "I was skating around the halls and she just ran into me"

Kurt ran over to Megan and picked her up, Megan blinked a few times at him. Over the last few days Megan had grown just as close to Kurt as she had with Rogue, splitting her time between the two equally, Ororo guessed that the girl liked the way Rogue and Kurt interacted and their differences in mutations that they seemed to overcome being a goal for the pink haired pixie. "Are you okay?" Kurt asked as Emma bent down and felt Megan's forehead, seeing a small bruise starting to show.

"I thought I saw-I saw-" then she couldn't speak as she forgot what she was meant to say.

"Sally, how many times have I told you" Ororo said in a stern voice "If you have your shield up around yourself, you do not skate around the school. This is exactly what happens" Ororo said, pointing to Megan who was just on the brink of passing out from hitting her head.

"I am so sorry!" Sally said over and over.

"Just go to your room" Ororo said, as the others said soothing words to Megan to keep her awake. "Be prepared to be questioned" she warned the young girl. Sally nodded and she ran out the room, glancing back once to Megan.

Suddenly Rogue came running out of the Rec. Room followed by Theresa. "Ah my god!" Rogue cried upon seeing Megan on the ground. "What happened?"

"She was knocked over by Sally Blevins" Ororo answered. Rogue gave a slightly tearful nod, Theresa was standing behind Rogue, unsteady on her feet.

"Ah right, come on, everyone down to the med labs, we need a safe place to discuss our plans to find Mystique" she said in a professional voice. She and Kurt bundled Megan into Logan's arms "Careful of the wings" she said, Logan readjusted himself so he was holding the young girl better. Meanwhile Bobby kept Theresa steady and helped her to the elevator first, then Ororo, Emma, Kurt and Gambit followed.

There was a pause as they all stood in the elevator, Ororo slowly rubbing circles around her stomach. "It's nice to see" Emma started in a whisper next to Ororo "that Logan can actually hold a person like that"

"Like what?" Ororo asked in the same tone.

"Like an infant" she said simply. Ororo simply stared at her, but before she could ask what on earth she meant the elevator opened and all the teachers ran from there to the med labs. "Okay people" Emma started the second she entered the room, "What do we do?"

"You shut up" Bobby said, helping Theresa onto a bed "And wait until the others get here before we say anything"

"Shut up Bobby" Emma snapped.

The occupants of the room were silent as the waited for everyone to come into the room. The second that Theresa made it onto the bed she passed out again, closely followed by Rogue, Logan and Megan entering the room. Logan placed Megan onto a bed and Megan started to struggle, "I'm fine, really, we have to find this blue woman before sh-"

"Megan calm down!" Rogue said, pushing the girl back down on the bed, "We will find her, don't worry, but you need to rest! You hit your head pretty hard"

"I can't rest!" Megan yelled again, trying to get off the bed, Logan ran over to her and tried to hold the girl down as she tried to get away. "I need to find her! She tried to hurt someone!"

"Megan, calm down" Peter said, running in with Warren, both who were slightly concerned that this girl would deny herself bed rest after being hit in the head, "Just listen to Doctor Darkholme and just have a small sleep"

"I can't! I won't!" Megan said, her hair in disarray, struggling with amazing strength to get away.

"Rogue, do something!" Ororo said, almost unable to watch as the girl tried to get away.

Rouge nodded and ran over to the medicine area, picking up a needle and walking back to Megan who still struggled to get away, upon seeing the needle she struggled harder. "Ah really didn't want to do this" Rogue told the girl, taking her arm "But please Megan, just forgive meh" then Rogue stabbed the needle into Megan.

Immediately Megan stopped moving, she gave a loud gasp as the drugs passed through her veins, making her calmer and sleepier by the second. "The poor girl must think this is her fault" Emma muttered.

"Why would she think that?" Ororo asked.

"Most children abandoned here believe that it is their fault, so with that, most of the kids will try and fix problems that weren't their fault at all. Megan must believe on some level something she did caused Mystique to enter the school. Therefore she won't rest until Mystique is captured"

"Very deep Emma" Peter muttered, stroking the hair out of Megan's eyes as she blinked slowly then finally fell asleep. "I guess we should start making a plan to find this M-"

"What the hell is that?" Remy said quickly, striding over to Megan and bending down. Ororo quirked her eyebrow and walked over to Megan to see what he was talking about. The she saw it, Megan was slightly blue, her hair a more redder color, and was she that tall before?

"Holy shit!" Logan yelled, running forward and taking Ororo out of the way as the person as they knew as Megan slowly transformed.

Megan grew taller and taller, her clothes disappearing and being replaced by blue skin and scales, her face grew longer, her wings withered away, her bust grew larger until Megan was fully transformed into the evil blue woman that had the ability to shape shift, mimic and totally screw people over.

"She's Mystique" Ororo whispered as the woman continued to sleep, having no idea on what was going on around her.

oOOo

Ororo was watching Mystique. She knew that it was inappropriate to watch a person while they slept but Ororo just found this woman so fascinating. Mystique had the perfect opportunity to fit in and to be like everyone else, she was a shape shifter after all, and yet she chose to stand out. After Megan transformed into Mystique they had her moved to a holding room, it was simple, a few things for entertainment and a place to sleep, surrounded by plastic walls where viewers could see all the movements of the person inside. Which was nothing much so far.

Rogue walked over to Ororo with an update on the school "Classes were cancelled today, everyone is really happy, of course. And Ah've asked them all about Megan. They say that Mystique was pretending to be Megan since yesterday afternoon, Ah remember having to leave her to go do some work but I thought she went home. I don't know what the hell Mystique was thinking, leaving herself at the mercy of the school when she fell asleep on the sofa"

"My question is why Megan" Ororo said, watching the woman as she breathed in and out slowly. "Why not another student?"

"Because Megan has this sort of innocence around her, Ah don't know" Rogue said hotly, glaring at Mystique. "Ah called the place that Megan was meant to be staying, there is a Valerie living there but when I tried to find records on Megan Gwaynn in government files it says she is living in Genosha for the last year,Mystique made up this whole thing"

"Why would a woman like Mystique go to all this trouble?" Ororo asked, putting her hand on the glass and watching as Mystique slept, her eyes fluttering as she came closer to consciousness.

"Don't know" Rogue shrugged.

Kurt bamfed right next to Rogue and Ororo, his smell of sulphur hitting her nose hard "Is she awake yet?"

"No, why?" Rogue asked, glancing at him.

Kurt shrugged easily "I find Mystique interesting, zis woman is able to look human and yet she is still blue, I-I wanted to ask if she knows me at all...Bobby made the comparison that we look alike, vith the yellow eyes and blue skin, and I started to vonder if he was right...if Mystique is my muzzer. I'm taking the chance and asking her."

"God hoping that Bobby ain't right" Rogue muttered.

Ororo turned slightly and looked at Rogue and Kurt who were staring intently at the room, Ororo had changed back into something a bit more formal opposed to her sweat pants, and she now wore a pair of maternity work pants and button down white blouse. She felt like she could handle things much better if she was wearing something a bit more work like, a perfect example of why Ororo liked her leather uniform.

There was a small crash from inside the room and Ororo whipped her head back to see Megan looking at them with her hands against the glass "What am I doing in here?" she asked.

"Give it up Mystique, Ah know it's you" Rogue snapped.

Ororo was surprised to see that Megan didn't glare, instead she hid a heavy sigh and turned back into her blue form. When she turned back into her Mutant form she held her hands against the glass again "What are you going to do with me?" she smirked, "going to leave me in here?"

"No, because you would annoy meh eventually" Rogue retorted.

Mystique simply chuckled "Your mother has taught you well" she smiled, then she looked at Kurt, tilting her head and looking him through wide yellow eyes "Kurt on the other hand has not said a word. Shy?" she asked, giving a cruel smile.

"Ororo" Rogue said "Do mah a favour, go into the viewing room and keep watch of meh and Kurt. Ah have to talk to Mystique for just one second"

"Is that to keep an eye on me?" Mystique asked as Ororo moved to the room next door. "Because I would never kill you"

"No, it's to make sure I don't kill you" Rogue answered.

Just as Ororo entered the viewing station (a room that showed all the other holding cells on several screens) she saw that Kurt and Rogue appeared in the same cell as Mystique. Ororo felt like she was intruding on something, that no one should be here listening to the very conversation that Kurt, Rogue and Mystique were just about to have. But it so happened that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time, if Mystique just woke up a little later, perhaps, then someone else would be sitting here opposed to her.

Ororo pressed a few controls and she enlarged the image on the screen, the sound from the cell coming in automatically. "What the hell do you think you were doing?" Rogue yelled the second she got in the cell. "Pretending to be this girl purely for the fact to piss me off!"

"It wasn't just to piss you off" Mystique said moving around the room with ease as though she owned the place instead of being held prisoner "It was to keep an eye on you."

"What have Ah got that ya want?" Rogue asked, staring down at her.

"Tsk, tsk" Mystique muttered, changing back into a pale woman, blue eyes and black hair, looking remarkably like her blue mutant form "Is that anyway to talk to your mother?"

Rogue froze in her place, staring at the woman who stopped, leaning against the wall in a dark blue backless dress. "Ah'm sorry, what?" Rogue stammered.

Mystique smiled and looked up away from Rogue, shaking her head, before looking back at her 'daughter' again. "I was named Raven Darkholme, I wasn't born last night, or even last century, for that matter…but I am your mother." she said looking at Rogue.

"No way! How do Ah know that ya just didn't make that all up and read it on the computer as Megan?" Rogue asked, grasping for straws.

"My dear, you can either accept that I am your mother or not. But there is one way to prove it, do you not recognize this form at all?" Raven said, gesturing to her body.

"But what if you stole that body? Knowing you, ya probably did" Rogue snapped.

"- or the fact that there is no record of Raven Darkholme at all?" Raven questioned, "There are few people that can access files to completely delete a person from the face of the earth, and who do you think can imitate them?" Raven asked, pushing herself off the wall and walking over to Rogue, grabbing her by the chin with her hand and looking into Rogue's eyes, her eyes softening a little. "I am your first mother and you know it" she whispered.

Rogue ripped her face from her grip, glaring at Mystique as she did. "Ah am not your daughter" she said harshly before turning on her heel and walking to the door. "Open the door 'Ro!" she yelled up to the security camera. Ororo jumped up as quickly as possible to let the steaming woman out before she would kill Raven.

Rogue yelled in frustration the second she got out then stomped over to Ororo. "Ah can't believe it! That woman is my first mother? That woman that almost killed meh on the stupid island! The one where Ah got this!" she yelled, pointing to her white streak of hair. She yelled in frustration again and Ororo ran over to her, completely forgetting Kurt and Raven in the room and instead tried to comfort Rogue.

"Rogue, calm down!" Ororo said, running over to Rogue and putting her hands on her shoulders, only to see that streams of tears were pouring down Rogue's face. She swiftly pulled Rogue into a hug and let the girl cry on her shoulder, just letting it out, Ororo tried to be soothing as much as she could "I'm so sorry that Raven had to be your mother" she told Rogue.

Rogue moved from Ororo's arm, staring at Ororo with confused and angry eyes "She's not Raven. She's Mystique, good and simple. All Ah know is that my mother is dead" she said coldly, then turned away from Ororo and sniffling "If you want meh, Ah'm goin' to go back to my room…just tell the other's to leave me alone" she said, making her way out the door.

She paused for a second with her hand on the door frame and for a moment Ororo thought Rogue was going to turn back around and try to talk to Mystique. "Keep an eye on Kurt" she said, and then she left the room, the clacking of her heels getting ever more distant.

With that last request Ororo ran back over to the monitor to see that like with Rogue, Mystique looked absolutely depressed that Kurt wouldn't talk to her and was rejecting her. "Kurt please-"

"You! You are my muzzer? Ve have met countless times before and yet you never even muttered a vord zat you knew me outside of ze vorld of ze X men!" he yelled at her, stalking away from her with his tail swinging from side to side.

"I couldn't-I wouldn't say anything!" she said, following him back in her mutant form "But the last time I saw you, you just looked so happy to be part of the X men or whatever you were doing. I didn't want you to know who I was, I was just happy you found Rogue, you were better off without me. But then I saw you in Germany and you looked so upset! So...I put the idea in your head that you wanted to join the X men again"

"Zat was you?" Kurt said, whipping around and almost hitting Mystique in the face.

"Of course it was!" she said, trying to come forward and hold him but he dodged her "Please Kurt, just hear me out. I came back to the school and found Rogue still had her powers and I couldn't leave! So I stayed here and waited for you instead of waiting in Boston. Believe me, I wanted to see you again Kurt, as your mother this time, not the as the woman with blue skin"

"I-I can't talk to right now. Good bye" Kurt said.

"Kurt please-" Mystique started, running for him and holding out her hand, but Kurt teleported out of the room and most likely somewhere else in the school to cool off. Mystique's hand closed around thin air and she sighed, her head falling slightly as she brought her closed fist to her head before it fell to her side.

She looked around the room and saw the camera, "You still watching me Ororo?" she asked, her eyes full of grief.

Sighing, Ororo reached forward and pressed the button for the intercom so Mystique could hear her. "Yes" she replied.

"Look, I'm not sorry for what I have done for...countless things." Mystique told her "Killing people, that's easy, but for what I have done to my children I regret now. I thought I wouldn't, I thought it was the right thing. But if those two both see me as a woman who will kill them in a heartbeat then I don't know what I'm going to do. Help me out here, I know your pregnant, maternal instinct must be kicking in soon" and all respect that she was starting to grow for Mystique was gone.

Ororo growled, "Yes it is, but Mystique, you almost killed your daughter!" she snapped.

Mystique looked away with the camera and walked towards another corner of the room "I have my reasons for doing that and I would rather discuss that with my daughter when she comes back to see me"

"Mystique, I don't think she is going to come back for a very long time" Ororo told her. Mystique looked up at the camera sorrowfully.

"Why?" then she paused, figuring out the answer for herself "Oh yeah, the horrible things I've done to her...I'll just get out of your way and never see you all again"

"Mystique, you can't leave either" Ororo explained, Mystique's head snapped up the camera in panic and she walked closer to it.

"No no! I have to get back to my apartment!" she yelled, turning back into Valerie Cooper "Look, I'm going to tell you something and you have to believe me. I was always in Germany, trying to find Kurt, I came across Valerie and she was in an accident. She told me to borrow her form until she got back so I could pretend to still be a human just a little bit longer, if I can't get back to the apartment the government are going to suspect something is up and they are going to come looking for me and give me the cure, the proper one that actually works"

"What about your human form?" Ororo asked, standing up from her seat herself and leaning towards the microphone "Don't they already suspect that when they haven't seen your human form in so many months"

"You would think that but I've had this plan going on for close to for four months now, this is what I do in my day" Mystique said, changing back into her form of Megan "I leave the apartment like this, go to the bus stop, stay here for a few hours to spend time with Marie, get on the bus back to the apartment" she turned back into Raven "Go out, go to as many places as possible so the security camera's get my image. Go back to the apartment" she turned back into Valerie "Go to the Government building, pick up files to work from at home until I am well enough to come back to work full time." She turned back into Mystique again "Do that, do my homework, send the files in via email, sleep, and then do the same thing all over again"

"Busy week" Ororo muttered.

"You got that right." Mystique yelled "If you don't let me go then I won't be able to keep up the image, the government will really follow my actions and they will figure out I'm still a mutant. I've killed people, they are not going to let me go free. Let me out! I can't be human again!" she yelled at the camera, a single tear on her cheek falling to the ground. "I can't!"

"Mystique, if you join us we can protect you!" Ororo tried to reason, but Mystique just shook her head, her panic slightly gone and instead she looked defeated while she held her body with her hands. She paused for awhile and Ororo wondered if she was going to ignore this offer.

Mystique finally spoke, looking away from Ororo "I'm in a place right now where I am needed everywhere, but wanted nowhere." She sighed "I won't join you"

"Why not? If Rogue and Kurt see you helping them and humanity-"

"That's just it" Mystique said, leaning on the wall "I hate humanity, you would think I would run back to Magneto but that bastard left me for dead, so going back to him is just as bad"

"I see you are caught in a hard place" Ororo commented, sitting back down in her chair and watching as Mystique moved around the room again.

What were the positives and negatives about keeping Mystique. So far in the months that they had known Megan nothing had gone wrong at all, she had kept her identity a secret the whole time, and only to be near her daughter.

What if she was telling the truth? If she really just wanted to be closer to her children while she could, because as Ororo could clearly see, this was the reaction of her children towards their mother. Both of whom were searching for months, years for her. Rogue even took her name! Kurt risked his life by coming back to America to search for her.

But when they found out Mystique was Raven Darkholme all those thoughts flew out the window and it was hatred and confusion instead. Ororo wondered what that must be like, if her own child hated her that much, Ororo looked down to her stomach and drew a small circle on it as she started to think. Should she let Mystique go?

If she let her go that would mean everyone questioning Ororo's actions, they would have lost a very powerful and manipulative Mutant, one that the government keeps an eye on and if they hand her over to them then the government will leave them alone, but that would mean turning on their own kind. But if she let Mystique go then she would have let this woman have another chance to try and change her life.

Ororo sighed, pressing the intercom on again "I'm going to ask you something and you have to tell me what you really think, not what you think I want to hear. What happens if I let you go?" Ororo asked, the last sentence as slowly as possible.

"I leave and I won't come. If Rogue or Kurt wants me to I will come back, or if like any other Mutant, if I am in trouble" she told Ororo, looking up at the camera again. "But if not I will never set foot in this school again."

"Why should I trust you?" Ororo asked, "From all the times we have fought together and the rumours about you, you come off pretty untrustworthy"

"I have nothing to offer you that could be proof that I'm not lying. But I can ask you to use your judgment, just think about what it would mean if I stay in the school here? I can't do anything for my children here except disappoint them, if I'm out in the real world I can do something, you saw my work as Senator Kelly! Didn't you notice the difference between that and before?"

Ororo sighed, and against her better judgment she opened the door. Everything Mystique said was true, everything, and Ororo knew it was the most idiotic thing she had done in a while, but the woman seemed genuine. Getting out of her chair and finding Mystique waiting by the entrance of the door to the viewing room. She stood slightly, watching Ororo.

Ororo stood in front of Mystique and watched her "You haven't got much time before someone might come down and check on me" Ororo said, "Take my form, say you feel hungry, take a car and get out of the school" she said this and threw her keys to Mystique who caught them with ease.

The Mystique looked at the keys in her hand then back at Ororo "I won't forget this. You helping me out when I've done nothing but bring you pain, you are helping me out a lot by letting me go"

"It doesn't matter, just go" Ororo said, nodding towards the hall.

Mystique nodded and started to walk a few paces before turning back "Look, if I don't come back, good luck with the baby and tell my children I love them" and started to run off, Ororo stepped out into the hall and watched as the woman turned into herself, complete with the small bump for her stomach.

Sighing Ororo hit her head against the door frame "This better be the right thing to do" before going back into the room and sitting on the chair, waiting until someone would come and find her.

oOOo

"You let her go!" Emma yelled at Ororo, the X men were all standing in their meeting room and discussing how on earth Mystique was able to escape, when Ororo told them the truth and suddenly being pregnant wasn't an excuse anymore (not that Ororo ever used that excuse...okay maybe once). "Why would you do that?"

"She seemed pretty sincere about her future actions. And what good would it do if I kept her here?" Ororo said, standing her ground. "If she really was like the person she was before she would have hacked into our data bases and bought the X men down months ago. She had opportunities!"

"She played you Ororo!" Rogue yelled. When she and Kurt found out about Mystique's escape there were more upset than the rest, their kind looks were gone and instead they were furious with Ororo. "What the hell was going through ya mind?"

"I stand by decision to let her go!" Ororo yelled back, "She is your mother Rogue and it doesn't matter if you have this personal vendetta against her, even I admit that when she pretended to be Senator Kelly life was better. If she goes back and mimics Valerie Cooper for a few months then we will all be better off!"

"What if she isn't going back to vork, what if she is going back to Magneto?" Kurt said, jumping in.

"Then I'm sorry!" Ororo told him, anger still present in her voice "But if that does happen then I completely regret my decision, but so far I don't and there is nothing we can do to change and bring her back unless Mystique comes back by her own accord or if you two want her back here."

"If you never let her go in the first place then we wouldn't have to worry about this!" Rogue yelled.

"I am not sorry for what I have done, Mystique deserves a chance to prove herself. She has been out of the picture, hidden for almost six and a half years, we have not heard a word about her and assumed Mystique to only be human. She has been trying to make a different life for herself and I believe we should allow her to do that" Ororo snapped.

Rogue and Kurt both glared at her and didn't say a word "She has not been the best mother, to either of you, but she is trying to make up for that now and I think you should give her a chance"

"Yeah, well I still don't trust her" Rogue muttered.

Everyone sat still for a moment before Bobby finally spoke "Hey, if she's your mom, they you guys are brother and sister" there was an awkward pause as the fact dawned on Rogue and Kurt while the rest gave Bobby dirty looks. "What?" he asked Remy.

"Vell at least one good zing came out of zis" Kurt finally said, glancing at Rogue who still looked down "Now I have a schwester!" he yelled with joy, he then teleported and landed on Rogue who gave a small shriek. "Come here!" he yelled at her.

"Ah! No!" Rogue laughed as Kurt started to tickle her "Someone help! Can- can't breathe!" she burst out, trying hard not to laugh as her new found brother attacked her. "Get off me!" she yelled happily.

Kurt jumped off her but they were both smiling, searching for family for so long they finally found someone. Ororo smiled at the new brother and sister, both who looked nothing alike at all, but they went together better than most siblings. It didn't matter that they were only the product of Mystique, they were family and no trouble in the world could split that bond.

But Ororo noticed something, even though they were smiling with joy, they still looked sad.

The woman they were both searching for turned out to be a bust, it didn't matter that they found each other, they were already like siblings already. The woman that was meant to protect and love them had abandoned them several times or tried to kill them, it didn't matter that Mystique was trying to make it up to them, the damage was done.

Ororo hoped that Mystique could fix her mistakes, a mother should never have the feeling of so much pain and regret from her children. It wasn't right and no matter what Mystique had done in her past, she had the chance to fix it, and Ororo was glad she let her free.

oOOo

He was kissing her, it wasn't the first time and god only knows it wasn't going to be the last time, but the way that Logan was kissing Ororo felt like this kiss should be remembered for some reason.

It started after they arrived back at the mansion after an evening date where Logan had taken her out, they had done normal couple things, they were almost completely ignored by the other restaurant patrons. After their date it was normal enough, quick fleeting looks and this time only a sweet kiss in the car after they arrived home.

However this evening Ororo invited Logan to come up to her room to wish her good night. Ororo was feeling...less than sexy. Her body was no long entirely hers, not that she had a problem with that, it was hers and Logan's child after all, but it made her really consider the decision she was going through. She was not regretting it, if that was what you were thinking, far from it, it just made Ororo realise that the baby was there, that something was growing in her.

Logan broke away from her and Ororo was mortified to hear herself whimper, "Good night 'Ro" he whispered, planting another kiss to her forehead and started to make his decent down the stairs.

Ororo frowned at him and placed a hand on her hip and tugging him back to her, "Where are you going? You have been oddly quiet this evening and I want to know, are you freaked out by this thing between us, or by this bump between us" she said, putting a hand on her stomach to further show him what she was talking about. "Because Logan, I have to say, ever since I started showing you seemed to be a little more distant and I want to know what is wrong!"

"Oh god Ororo, it's not you, or the kid" Logan said, grabbing her hand that rested on her stomach and holding his hand over it. "Nothin' like that. It's just, I got thinking the other day...about somethin' that I never really thought about before"

"Which is?" Ororo asked.

"I can live forever, most likely, and there is a good chance that the kid will be able to as well. But what about you? This kid is not going to have a mom soon, maybe not in a year, maybe not in 10 years, but soon you won't be there and I won't know what to do without you"

Ororo smiled at him, taking her other and brushing her hand over his jaw in a soothing way "First of all I'm glad to see that you feel that way about me. And second, I won't die, not for a very long time. Has anyone ever explained the genetics of family?"

Logan quirked his eyebrow at Ororo "Why would they tell me that? Ever?" Logan shook his head in her hand and pressed a feather light kiss to her palm "Why don't you explain?"

"My mother and my grandmother, all my ancestors in the African tripe, all had a special sort of power, not any mutation but something, and they always seemed to live longer than normal women and men. I thought I was like them, that I would die eventually, the way life was meant to move on, to make room for new life. But when I came to the school the first time Xavier explained to me that the combination of my ancestors longer life and my mutation that involves rain that brings new life, I am to live longer than humans and most Mutants and still look no older than I do now"

"So what you are saying" Logan said, bringing his head closer to Ororo, making her hand drop to his shoulder as he breathed in her scent "Is that you can live forever?"

"Almost forever" she smiled, rubbing her thumb against his cheek "I will die eventually, it's the natural order of things. But I will still be here for hundreds or thousands of years to come, looking the way I do and still acting the way I do, but there will come a time that a stray bullet will hit me, sooner or later I will die, and by then I hope that you will be ready to let me go"

"Darhlin, I don't think that will ever happen." He whispered, Ororo saw him move his head until he was on the same level as her, looking deeply into her eyes as she looked into his "But I hope I can spend all the time I can with you"

Logan then bent down to kiss her, this time she knew that he meant it, that he would stay with her until she wanted to break away. And this time she didn't want to, she didn't know if it was the hormones or that Logan practically admitted to wanting to spend the rest of his life with her, but Ororo knew she wanted him back in her bed.

Ororo opened her mouth and Logan slipped through, their tongues battling for dominance, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck while his hands roamed over her body, feeling her and making her shiver slightly. Then she heard him fumble for the door knob, smiling into the kiss she pulled away slightly to let him kiss down her throat. Ororo marvelled that this man could open a door while he made her feel like this at the same time.

She felt the door swing open behind her and she fell back slightly and in that moment where she opened her mouth to gasp in surprise, Logan was back again, kissing her while he started to pull the zipper down on her dress, kicking the door shut behind him.

Ororo couldn't believe that this was happening all over again, she felt his hands touch and caress the newly exposed skin, his mouth leaving hers again so he was able to kiss her neck, sucking and biting (that was going to leave a mark), she couldn't believe that she was going to have sex with Logan again. But there was a difference between that and the last time, and she felt him recognise it as his hands skimmed over her small bump of her stomach.

This time this actually meant something, it wasn't just sex with anyone, it was with Logan.

**Ah ha! I bet none of you were expecting that...not the last bit, the Mystique bit. If you did, then you are very smart, if you didn't then what did you think? Oh god, you can't believe how happy I was with myself when I came up with the idea for Megan/Raven/Mystique! I was like 'Brain flash!' and wrote it down (I also did my happy dance). **

**I'm very sad about Rogue and Kurt, poor them! The only problem I encountered in this chapter was writing Mystique as a person who generally wanted to be forgiven, but at the same time is still an evil bitch. Well inspiration for this was from X men evolution, so for lovely family moments between Mystique, Rogue and Kurt, just go and have a watch of that.**

**And now I have a great cause for you to participate in. Marvel has started this awesome new X men series called '****Wolverine and the X men'**** and if you watch it or don't watch it, it is awesome! But they left us on the biggest cliff hanger of all time at the end of the first season and we all just found at the second season they promised is not being made! So if you are really mad about this go onto Face Book and join ****'10, 000 to save Wolverine and the X men'.**

**If you have not seen it, join anyway trust me, it's like an awesome fan fiction, with hundreds of reviews, being cut off in the middle of a cliff hanger because the author saw another fanfic that had more review then them (a little hint for all of you that if you like a story leave a review, because I cut off this other fanfic because I didn't get enough reviews even though it was still popular).**

**So review and join ****'10,000 to save Wolverine and the X men'**** and make a little girl in Australia**_** extremely**_** happy.**

**P.S Ha Ha Ha, I can't believe I came up with that Mystique thing! This is your curveball Sunigyrl!**


	13. Assumptions

**Chapter 12**

**Assumptions **

Ororo rolled over in her bed and first thing she noticed was that the sun was shining delicately on her rounded stomach, the second was that she was naked, the third was that the breathing next to her belonged to her lover and the forth thing that Ororo noticed was that she wasn't in her normal attic room. Logan's warm arm was moving lightly over her body and Ororo concluded that he was moving it unconsciously in his sleep.

Ororo yawned and turned over on her other side to look into the sleeping face of Logan...which happened to be wide awake. Logan smiled at her and pulled her closer to his muscled body, Ororo smiled back at him "Good morning" she said in a croaky voice before coughing and clearing her voice, "Not used to waking up in a strange room" she half laughed, sort of nervous on waking up next to Logan, which she shouldn't he had seen her naked many, _many _times before.

"I'd hope not" he said, kissing her head. They lay in almost silence for a long while, just staying in that peaceful state of half sleep and half awake, not wanting to get up and see the world just yet.

A week ago, after the start of the development of the house next door into rooms, Ororo had been approached by both Warren and Rogue, telling her that they were going to start sound proofing her room now instead of in a month like planned. When Ororo had asked why, Rogue had told her quite bluntly that she was sick and tired of hearing everything above her, including Ororo using the bathroom so many times during the night or her 'activities' with Logan.

With Warren unlimited kindness (and money) the production for the building next door was going faster than anyone thought, hundreds of rejected Mutant builders were more than happy to work non-stop for almost 2 weeks now just so that their future children could go to the school.

The topic of Ororo and Logan had gone from only dating to something else, they weren't exactly living together (okay they were now, but only because Ororo had nowhere else to go and Logan offered up a side of his bed) but they were having a baby together. Sometimes Ororo wondered if that was the only reason they were together at all.

Ororo never stayed on that issue for long, she didn't want to think about something that far ahead, but so far Ororo thought she might have found something real, that something was Logan, but was he only there for the baby? No, of course not, Ororo told herself, moving her leg so it was between Logan's in a more closer position, if it weren't for the child then Ororo wouldn't be in her position she was right now. Of course that sounded sort of bad, but the baby was the kick start to their relationship and if Logan was only there for the child then he would distant himself from Ororo as much as possible.

Which he obviously wasn't. Logan brushed a stray strand of hair from Ororo's face, "You know, I keep worrying that I might hurt you in my sleep because of...you know...but it's been a week and nothing has happened."

"You would never hurt me" Ororo whispered back to him, kissing him swiftly on the lips, "I trust you and you have to learn to trust yourself."

Logan gave a soft growl "I'm trying...and I think it's working. I just thank god every day when I still find you here" he then kissed Ororo until she felt like she was going to pass out. His hands were roaming her lower back and Ororo was trying to keep grip, not wanting to let go of such a peaceful morning. But of course, the smashing of something downstairs bought out the principal side of Ororo.

Regretfully she pulled herself away, giving a kiss on both sides of Logan's cheeks and pulled the sheet off her body, some people would find it uncomfortable to walk around a room in the nude but Ororo found it completely normal, a bed room was for free expression and if she felt the need to walk around in the nude then she would go ahead and do it.

Logan watched her from the bed and Ororo felt slightly self conscious that she was naked and pregnant (with his child) and blushed, moving towards his bathroom so she could prepare for the day, because today was important, today was the day that Kitty Pryde, also known as Shadowcat was coming to the school as Kitty had a gap between her classes for a few days (something about everyone getting sick or the school exploding, Kitty talked to fast sometimes and Ororo wasn't able to keep up) and Kitty wanted to desperately to see Peter.

But it was still a working day and Ororo had to get ready, even though leaving an insanely hot naked Canadian in bed was almost killing her.

oOOo

Ororo entered the kitchen with a slight bounce this morning, everything was going perfectly, Rogue and Kurt had finally (sort of) forgiven her about the whole Mystique episode, Mystique hadn't caused trouble so far so maybe she was going to leave them alone...for now at least. Kurt went immediately back to being her friend after a few days as Kurt saw it as a forgive and forget situation or something along those lines, but Rogue took a lot longer and it was only recently that she had actually looked and joked around with Ororo like nothing had ever happened.

Although Ororo knew that Rogue could hold a grudge for a very long time. But Rogue was a good actress.

Rogue was on breakfast duty this morning and she was talking to Bobby over the counter as she made pancakes "Good morning 'Ro" she greeted as she flipped a pancake over and it sizzled "Morning bump" she directed at Ororo's baby bump, which she immediately held a hand too.

"Shush you" Ororo laughed. "You can't see much."

"Don't deny it 'Ro, you can see a baby bump, you have to be blind not to see it" Bobby said, Ororo shrugged and smiled at him.

"And with that shirt ya can see it really well" Rogue said, bending to so lean towards Ororo's bump "Hey there" she cooed wiggling an ungloved finger at Ororo's stomach.

Ororo frowned with humour and batted Rogue away "Come on, get back to work"

"All right" Rogue said in defeat, and then going back to the pan before the contents burned "You know this is an important week"

Ororo poured herself some juice into a cup and looked back to the doctor "Why is that Rogue?"

"Because this week ya could start ta feel some movement in that little bump of a stomach ya got" Rogue pointed her spatula at Ororo's stomach and Ororo jumped back "Nothin' big, mind you, jus' like little feelings...you know them when you get them"

"Oh wow!" Bobby said "That is just going to be amazing, I mean, not that it hasn't been cool so far, just that we know that the baby is progressing"

"Thanks Bobby" Ororo said, patting him on the back as she passed him with her juice and vegemite toast.

"What's that brown gunk on your toast" Rogue asked, disgust written on her face.

"It's an Australian spread, Jean bought a couple of pots of it for John when he was still living here and I didn't like it at first but it grew on me" Ororo shrugged, taking a bite of her toast and smirking at Rogue and Bobby's reactions.

Suddenly there was a crash of a door opening, someone yelling "Hello! I'm home!" pounding footsteps and a squeal of "Peter!", Ororo swallowed quickly and started to get up from her seat, it seemed that Kitty had finally arrived home.

Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde, was an X man through her entire high school life but she wanted to have a place at the school permanently, so after a break for the summer (which she spent with Peter at her parents summer home) she went into her teaching degree, she wanted to teach the students technology, how to do particular things on lap tops or school computers, but she also wanted to teach a bit more of the combat class.

Logan disagreed at first, liking that he could teach his own class, but Kitty had him wrapped around her little finger and he agreed she could take the youngest of the kids and teach them.

Peter and Kitty were young but Ororo saw immediately when they were going out that this love was meant to be, they were going to stick by each most likely for the rest of their lives. When Peter heard that Kitty was coming home he was so excited that he forgot a lot of things, one of them being his classes and turned up almost a half hour late to a class (none of the students hated that though).

Smiling Ororo got up from out of her seat and flattened down her tight shirt (all her blazers packed into boxes until she could move back into her room) and motioned for the others to follow her. Rogue went on ahead but Bobby waited back and walked with Ororo to meet Kitty.

As Ororo entered the hall she noticed that Kitty was hanging onto Peter and he was kissing her cheeks, hair and anywhere else he could kiss her. Rogue yelled out at them and Kitty let go of Peter and hugged Rogue, talking rapidly on how much she missed her. Finally Ororo reached Kitty.

"Hello there Kitten, long time and no see" Ororo greeted her, Kitty looked over Rogue's shoulder and smiled at Ororo. Rogue let go and stepped back so Kitty could hug Ororo but as Kitty reached out her arms she stopped, then looked at Ororo with a puzzled expression.

"Oh my god, okay, either you gained a lot of weight which I know you never do, or you are" she said in mild confusion, rambling "...are you pregnant?" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Everyone looked fearfully at each other before Bobby leaned over to Peter "You forgot to tell her, didn't you?" he asked, Peter nodded slowly.

Ororo gulped and held a hand over her stomach and watched as Kitty's emotions ran across her face, including jealousy, anger, confusion, wonder, happiness and many more "I guess that Peter forgot to mention this wonderful miracle to you" Ororo asked, smiling nervously as she did.

"Oh my god" Kitty whispered, "Oh my god" she repeated, louder "Oh my god!" she yelled "When did this happen? Why wasn't I told? Do you know what you are going to have? Who's the father? Can I be God mother?" she said quickly, jumping up and down and holding onto Ororo's shoulder.

Peter took hold of Kitty's shoulder to stop her jumping "Calm down Kitty, you don't want to jostle Ororo at the moment"

"Oh right, but seriously, answer me Munroe" she commanded.

"Four and a half months ago, we forgot to tell you, I don't know yet, Logan and don't ask if you can be God mother, that's not nice to the others" Ororo counted of on her fingers.

"Wow...you guys must of been really, _really _drunk" Kitty commented, Ororo gave her a very sarcastic look and Peter smacked him palm into his face, and Ororo could see out the corner of her eye that Bobby was shaking his head. "...or not" Kitty said in a half shrug. "So where is Logan anyway? Should I wish him luck on being a dad or does he know at all that he is the dad?"

"You just keep saying stupid things don't you Kitty?" Bobby asked.

"Well hello to you to frost butt" Kitty said, jumping on him for a hug anyway. "I can't believe I missed so much! I mean, Ororo's pregnant and I missed that!"

"There's another surprise to" Bobby said.

Kitty jumped up and down, clapping her hands "What is it? Oh tell me, !" she whined. All of a sudden Kurt fell from above and teleported again so he was standing next to Ororo.

"Surprise!" he yelled, Kitty squealed again and jumped on Kurt, hugging the life out of him while he did the same. Kitty had grown close to Kurt before he left, since she was young at the time they met they played a few practical jokes around the school, they were rather silly most of the time and most often if Ororo had to talk seriously she had to split them up or they would disrupt meetings with their laughing.

"Ah! Kurt! I've missed you, like, so much!" she yelled.

Peter walked quickly over to Ororo and bent down "Better escape now while she is distracted" he whispered. Ororo smiled up at him and started to slip away before Kitty started to ask more questions.

oOOo

Throughout the day Kitty and Peter were inseparable, Kitty said she needed to see how a class worked and watched him teaching his classes, on occasion she would swap around and watch a class that Rogue taught or any of the others (except Emma's) but Ororo was always careful and made sure she never ran into Kitty.

It's not that she had anything against Kitty, just that Kitty was very hyper active and one of those girls who found everything cute. Ororo was just slightly worried that Kitty might grab her stomach and so far the only person who touched her stomach was herself, Logan and Rogue. Eventually she would let people touch her stomach, feel the baby's kicks (there were none so far, not even a bubble) but at the moment the bump was only a bump and nothing more.

Ororo knew that the bump held something important but so far it was simply a bump and she didn't wish for people to hold onto it expecting something to happen, the baby was not doing anything, it was simply sharing her blood and food at the moment. It wasn't giving back and Ororo concluded that until it kicked then her body was still her property and you don't usually hold onto someone's stomach hoping you feel their stomach rumble.

It was late afternoon and nowhere near dinner, yet Ororo was starving. So instead of waiting for dinner she made her way to the kitchen instead. There she came across Kitty and Peter kissing sweetly at the table. Ororo made a face and coughed harshly, alerting to the others that someone else was present in the room. Kitty and Peter turned quickly and Ororo gave them a disapproving look while she tapped her foot.

It wasn't that she disapproved of romantic relationships, Ororo just disapproved of them in public in front of students who might have recently broken up, and that would mean someone ending up in tears. "As I said to you a year ago, you cannot have a romantic relationship in the viewing area of students. Not only do the younger ones see this but there are many problems with fragile students."

"Oh, uh, sorry Ms Munroe." Peter apologised, lifting Kitty off his lap and sitting her down on the chair next to him.

"Oh come on Ororo!" Kitty said, jumping up, "I haven't seen Peter in like, a month."

"That does not change the rules Kitten" Ororo told the younger girl, using the old nickname for Kitty. "Please, you have a room-" Ororo cut herself off, something strange was happening to her stomach, or rather her baby. Ororo held her hand to her stomach and she was aware that Kitty was rushing over to her and holding her.

Ororo knew she was making a big deal of nothing but this feeling in her womb was strange, never felt before in her life. Ororo never really had soda so she never really felt the feeling of something bubbling in her stomach, let alone the feeling of something fluttering in her womb like something was actually moving. It was strange, it wasn't definite kicks but like something was actually moving. Her child had actually moved! Ororo almost felt like jumping for joy but that was silly and rather juvenile...she would do that later.

The feeling passed to quickly and Ororo finally figured out what was happening. Because of her actions she looked like she was in pain instead of wonderment over her body.

"Ororo! What's wrong? Do you need Logan! Do you need Rogue! Tell me!" Kitty was saying, trying to stay calm but was failing miserable as her hair was falling over her face and she looked in a complete panic.

Ororo waved her away, "It's nothing Kitten. I am simply overwhelmed by the feelings of bubbles in my stomach...Rogue told me about it earlier, it is simply the baby making a few movements."

The look on Kitty's face was almost priceless, she had a combination of surprise, excitement and something that Ororo was unable to describe. Kitty jumped up and down in front of Ororo, holding onto her shoulders as she spoke in a very fast speed "Oh my god Ororo! This was the first time you felt the baby and I was sitting right here! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

"Kitten calm down" Ororo said, taking Kitty's hands off her shoulders "This is not the first time I have felt the child, just that this time I felt something a bit...more" Kitty looked at her with wide blue eyes and Ororo took pity on her and grabbed Kitty's hands "I am so happy you were here with me though. You looked like you were ready for anything when I bent over. I was surprised by the baby's movements, that is all."

"That's all?" Kitty squealed in a pitch almost high enough only dogs could hear. "This is like, the biggest thing that is going to happen you all day and all you can say that your baby moving doesn't excite you a little bit?"

Ororo gave a glowing smile "Of course it excites me" she said happily, moving Kitty's hands (therefore, the rest of Kitty) side to side, like a younger and therefore, a more energetic version of her present self. Ororo knew this was totally out of her normal behaviour, and that Peter was most likely judging her, but Ororo didn't care.

Something had _moved _in her!

If Ororo wasn't excited about that then she had nothing, her baby actually moved, she could actually define the baby as moving and growing now instead of just eating her food, taking up her energy or making her throw up. Ororo stopped swinging Kitty and just held her still "Kitten, I have to tell you something. I was afraid when you were first here that you would simply handle my stomach as though there was something there...and now there is"

"So can I touch it?" Kitty asked.

"No" Ororo said, Kitty looked crestfallen "But when I can actually handle people touching my body to feel my child, then you will be the second person I call, right after Logan of course."

Kitty squealed again then went into a sort of hyper chipmunk mode, Ororo ignored her for the better part and became preoccupied with simply watching Kitty and Peter instead. While Kitty seemed often very fast and eager with the others most of the time, she had this sort of mind like hesitation with Peter, as though she really cared for what he thought.

But then Ororo noticed that even though Kitty thought what her actions could do to Peter she did it anyway most of the time, and Peter accepted it. Ororo wondered whether the gentle metal man was simply too afraid of Kitty to disagree with her or if he loved her that much that he let Kitty be who she wanted to be. Of course like any other concerned partner, he cared for her well being during a fight and just in general, and sometimes this annoyed Kitty of his protectiveness, but Ororo could see that Kitty loved how he cared about her so much.

Kitty was now sitting on Peter's lap while Ororo sat across from them, Ororo knew that Peter was late for teaching a class but he just looked so preoccupied with playing with Kitty's hair, twirling it around his finger over and over again, that Ororo could not bring herself to tell him to leave. So she just nodded along like she was paying attention to Kitty.

oOOo

"Ugh, what is she doing here" Emma muttered at dinner that evening. Ororo lifted her head to see Emma staring with hate across the room at Kitty. Again, another perfect example of the Kitty and Emma relationship, the one rule, stay out of the way. Even knowing each other for years and being on the same team, they still endlessly fought with each other.

Kitty forgave Emma about the whole 'yelling out that Kitty liked Peter' secret, but they still had many endless issues with each other. Betrayal, disagreements and just general dislike fuelled their hatred and it was very hard to keep them in a room together. When they did have missions together they stayed on task except for a snide comment every now and again, Ororo wondered when they would both grow up and get over it.

But there was something that had stopped the two ever trying to connect, Kitty found out about Emma's small (huge) crush on Scott and told a few of her friends, who told their friends in turn, until the whole school knew that if Emma never left for a few months to find herself she and Scott would be together instead of Jean and Scott.

What the students didn't know, and hopefully no one else would, was that Emma had a small affair with Scott after he and Jean were together. Ororo only found out by accident when Jean confessed her fears that the new old girl was cheating with her boyfriend and Ororo, the young naive person she was, went to investigate. Ororo told Scott that Jean suspected something was up and Scott told Emma to back down. They were all so young, Ororo barely a teenager and the others later in their teen years, they were all taken in by Xavier and were his first students.

Emma was only at the school for a year and a half in total before she left in a hurry and that was that, they never saw Emma again and when Emma turned up on their doorsteps a few years ago Ororo could hardly recognise her. Before she was beautiful but more humble, now her body had partly been made over with surgery and wearing clothes that showed that thousands of dollars had been well spent.

"She is here to see the school and Peter" Ororo told Emma, cutting a small piece of carrot away from the larger "Is there are problem Emma?"

"Only about a thousand and one darling, but I'm sure even if I told you, you wouldn't do a thing about it since it is your precious Kitten" Emma snarled, pushing away her half eaten meal like usual. "I can't be in the same room as her, I'm going to bed. Good night Ororo" and with that Emma got up from her seat and left the table. This was more common behaviour, eating like a bird at dinner and if she ate her usual pop tart for breakfast then no dinner at all.

Ororo tapped her plate with her fork, Ororo suspected that maybe Emma was anorexic, but why should Emma be that? She was gorgeous, young and sexy (Ororo knew it, it was obvious the woman had sex appeal, even Logan was attracted to her at some point but after living with Emma for a week a majority of the people wanted to kill her) Emma worked out a lot, more so than most of the others. Why should she not eat her food, have proper meals?

Sighing, Ororo decided that she would talk with Emma later on about this, best to catch it early and think it a misunderstanding , instead of letting it get too far. After a minute or two of Ororo thinking about Emma and trying to eat as much as Ororo could, Kitty, holding hands with Peter, sat down, they were focused on each other and talking softly to each other before they finally looked up to the real world. "Hey there! Slow down, there's more food in the kitchen!" Kitty teased.

"Very funny Kitten, but I'm just hungry and I have a lot of work to do" Ororo told them, placing her fork and knife side by side.

"Not too much I hope" a soothing male honey toned voice said behind Ororo. Ororo quirked her eyebrow and turned slowly around. Cracking a smile almost immediately, the last persons she expected to see in the world at the moment was standing behind her and had his over large blue hands in his suit pockets "My dear Ororo, not going to give your old friend a hug?" he asked.

Hank McCoy, one of Ororo's oldest friends from long ago, one of the few people that talked to the shy African girl who spoke little English, Hank used to be a typical human but his power manifested later in his life and came as quiet a surprise, making the sophisticated Politian and scientist into a blue furry beast, hence his code name, Beast. Hank was part of the team after his career went down the drain but he later discovered his talents of science and law was needed more so than fighting and teaching so he tried to get back his job.

It was hard for Hank at first, being so different and seeming like a dim-witted blue creature, of course he proved them wrong and now he was the sectary to the president and later on the ambassador for Mutants. Life had been hard on Hank but he was one of the success stories that Ororo liked to tell the children. Hank came to visit the school whenever he was in town for business and opting to stay there over a hotel, staying in one of the adult guest rooms they had set up.

Ororo got up steadily from her seat who walked over to hug her, "It's good to see you Henry" she greeted him.

"And same to you. And my" he said, pulling her away and holding her hands but looking at her round stomach, "Robert told me a week ago now about your pregnancy and you should have heard me over the phone"

"I would enjoy seeing the furball all excited" Logan almost laughed while Kitty hissed at Peter if 'Bobby could remember why couldn't _someone_ tell his girlfriend anything' Logan was leaning his arm over the chair and looking at them, Ororo smiled sweetly back at Logan and gestured for Hank to sit at the table with the rest of them. Hank walked away from Ororo and she sat back down while watching Hank and Logan hit each other playful (a little too hard for her liking) before sitting next to Logan. "Long time and no see, what you doing here? Business or pleasure?"

"Does it have to be one, or can I simply say both?"

"So I'm guessing business?" Logan guessed.

"Hole in one, Logan, but I always have fun here" Hank laughed, Peter tried to offer Hank dinner but he declined, stating that he was still full from lunch and he would get something later on. "Ororo, when you have finished with your meal could we please talk in the head mistress's office?"

"Of course, I'm actually done now. If you would come with me I'll leave this in the kitchen and then we can go to my office" Ororo said, getting up from her chair and taking her plate with her. This topic caught Ororo by surprise, obviously Hank wanted to talk to Ororo and wanted to pretend that he didn't plan it at all, that he wanted to have a friendly chat, but they didn't have talks like that in privacy.

Ororo cleared her plate under the watchful gaze of Henry before she placed it next to the sink and walked by his side while she led him to her office. He opened the door for her and she soon found herself sitting in her chair while Hank sat in the chair in front of her desk, the one slightly to her right. "Not that it hasn't been a pleasure seeing you Henry after so long but I have not known you to be so calm about even minimal changes in a person's life. Like Logan said before, I was surprised to see you unexcited about the recent change in my life."

"Well Ororo if you wanted to see me excited I could give you a remake on my reaction on when Robert told me-"

"No thank you, not that I wouldn't love to see you laughing like a maniac and almost hopping around the room, but I have other matters to address, mainly ones about classes I have to teach, and I would like to get whatever you need to say off your chest."

"Ah yes, getting to the heart of the matter all ready" Hank coughed "A couple of weeks before Robert called me I was in a pressing case that some of the government officials are stubborn to change positions in. You may have heard rumours about this but so far there is no action being taken. The government and the MRD are afraid of the children of known mutants, those children, after research, show great power, more obvious mutations and their powers manifest at a younger age, if at all. This case has been in the back burner for years but after recent cases of young mutants causing trouble in their middle schools or even in day care centres, people are afraid."

"What are you saying Hank? They want to take in our children?"

"Not that at all. They want to stop them completely. Eliminate pregnancy in Mutants"

"EXCUSE ME?" Ororo shrieked, leaping up from her chair in absolute rage. "What on earth are you doing to stop this Henry? I cannot allow them to take my child based on the fact that I am a Mutant." She screeched "How _dare_ anyone suggest that the miracle of life be such a repulsion that they want to terminate a pregnancy. Do you know how hard it was for me in the beginning of this whole ordeal?"

"Ororo I am not suggesting that this bill will pass at all, odds are stacked heavily in the favour of this not being passed by any means necessary, but we need everyone convinced that this is an awful idea-...did you just call your pregnancy an ordeal?"

Thunder clapped outside Ororo's window and the rain pelted against the window like hail, "Don't try and change the subject. Why are you telling me this at all if there is no worry? Why all this secrecy?"

"I came here to ask you if you would speak at the hearing, I have a few mutant mothers and father, teachers of young mutants and doctors talking at the case and I would like for you to speak as well. I was looking for someone who has a great deal of responsibility, mutant ability and a hero to speak at the hearing and when Robert called with your great news I knew that you were perfect. You could easily tip the scales in the favour of our side, you, a person who represents the most minorities, speaking about your future child is the greatest demonstration about the impact on terminating pregnancy and passing laws on this topic!"

Ororo stared at her friend in surprise as he leaned back in his chair, unsurprised about the thunder and lightning outside and Ororo's white eyes, Ororo shook her head and tried to calm the weather, what was Hank asking of her? He was asking her to speak out about her pregnancy, the pregnancy she just felt life in for the first time today. Exposing herself if she did speak out.

What if the bill passed? She couldn't hide, they would take the child forcefully and although she knew that everyone X man and child at the school would fight to the death before anyone came to her with such an intention she didn't want her child exposed to a world where it is hated more so than any other mutant child in this age.

Ororo sorrowfully shook her head at Hank, seeing him perk up at once "Henry, I am sorry, but letting the world see my pregnancy will risk the safety of the school and my child...which I don't call an accident by the way, that was simply the heat of the moment."

Hank nodded at her and got up from his seat "That is perfectly fine Ororo, I would not make you agree if you did not feel safe enough to do this. I'm sure that the other men and women I have gathered are just as good as case, I simply wanted to ask you as I knew you would be passionate about this case, whether or not you were pregnant at all."

"Which would mean?"

"I was going to ask you to speak anyway since you look after so many young children who have powers, you being with child was the cherry on top as it would be obvious you felt safe enough having your own child even after you have seen so many accidents involving the younger children."

"Well...that is nice to know." Ororo agreed, picking up a tissue from her box and wiping her face of angry tears. "Sorry I over reacted like that."

"Entirely understood Ororo, I am just glad that the hormones didn't affect you so that you sent a bolt of lightning my way."

"I am still considering that." Ororo smirked, sitting back in her chair and taking a deep breath in to calm herself, "I am sorry you have travelled all this way to receive my unimpressive answer."

Hank gave a rough hand flip while he smiled with teeth at the Weather Witch "Nonsense, I would have come on the first plane over when Robert told me if it weren't for the piles of work and this other hearing. My oldest friend, with child, is simply a miracle."

"How so?" Ororo asked, watching as Hank started to trip over his words "I am only joking Henry, everyone was surprised, including myself. However my reaction was nothing compared to Logan's."

"Oh my, did he cut up the dear fellow for impregnating you?" Hank laughed.

Ororo was slightly at loss at what to say, her mouth was slightly gaping before she blinked several times "Henry, he _is _the father, didn't Bobby tell you?"

Now it was Hank's turn to be surprised, "Logan is the father? But when did this ever happen, oh my stars and garters, what on earth did you drink?"

"Why do people keep saying that?" Ororo asked in wonder falling back in her seat before she leant forward in her chair again. "Do I really look like I would get so intoxicated that I would sleep with the first man I find? Henry I'm not going to tell you what happened but I just want to say that Logan and I are seeing each other and we are having this child together."

"A complicated matter, I'm sure. I hope to go no further into this topic as that is your business."

"My my Hank, I wish the students had as much respect as you do. I am the most interesting person to the students at the moment, I do admire that they pay more attention during class and help out but it does get a bit irritating after awhile of them betting when I'm craving...coincidentally the highest betted food for myself to crave is juice at the present moment. But that is only a preference, I am craving something else." Ororo said, mostly thinking about a naked Logan in bed this morning. But that was inappropriate to say to her oldest _male _friend.

"Can I ask what now?" Hank asked.

"Well," Ororo said, pausing "I am positively starving for apple. Care to join me while I go satisfy the child with excessive amounts of fruit?" Ororo said, picking herself up from her chair while Hank did the same.

"Certainly. With all this talk about cravings I want one myself now"

oOOo

Emma sat in front of Ororo, and much like a confident rebel child being brought towards the strict principal, Emma had a certain cocky look on her face, like she expected to get into trouble and it was only a matter of time. Ororo didn't know what Emma had done to expect this meeting and Ororo wished she wouldn't learn, what Emma did was her business and on one else's...unless it involved a student being harmed (mentally) or a teacher (physically most of the time).

Emma looked at her nails before she sighed and glanced over at Ororo "What is this concerning Ororo? I have other things to do which include marking work."

Ororo sighed "Emma, I am concerned about you. I do not question your personal life, I have never before, but your diet worries me."

"_Your _diet worries _me. _Jesus Christ, we have run out of juice every day!" Emma retorted. "And you are right, what I do is none of your business. Just like Remy thinking of Rogue in inappropriate ways. How Nightcrawler is feeling about Mystique." she glared, gripping the arms of the chairs "Or like how Logan is thinking about my sister." Emma's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Excuse me?" Ororo asked.

"I'm sorry but it's true. The other day I night I saw Logan looking up at the moon and then he had a flicker of my sister in his mind, he was quite confused and so he ignored it but now he wonders why he has such emotions of her image."

"Why would Logan know your sister Emma? You have not seen her for years"

"I haven't seen her because she's dead. It's my business and I did not see it fit to tell you that my sibling passed away 21 years ago" Emma said with a cold tone to her voice, staring down Ororo. "She risked everything to rescue me and she had Logan help her, but after that I never saw her again. Stryker killed her, I know it."

"Oh I'm sorry" Ororo apologised.

"Don't say sorry if you do not mean it." Emma said, crossing her arms, but Ororo could see that Emma Frost was hurt. "My sister died years ago, when you were only a little white haired freak in Africa."

Ignoring the last comment, Ororo got up from her seat "Emma, I mean it, the passing of a family member is always a sad event, even after so many years I can see how much you miss your sister. I will not relate your experience to mine but you must see that just because she died doesn't mean that you cannot talk about her to us, or even Logan for that matter. I know you and I know that you want to ask Logan how on earth he knows your sister and I do not want you poking around in his mind to find that out"

"I don't want to ask him about my sister. She is better off left in history, that's what she wanted, Kayla was never one for reminiscing the past, she was the one thinking about the future..." Emma sighed and turned away from Ororo again. "Is that all?"

"That is all" Ororo agreed "You know your way out"

The blonde woman quickly removed herself from her chair and almost ran to the door, opening it and slamming it as she left. Ororo physically flinched as the air hit her face, Emma was very upset about her sister and times were not getting any easier for her. Ororo sighed as she tapped her finger nails on the table, poor Emma, she thought, always alone.

Even though Emma gave the illusion that she indeed liked being alone Ororo wasn't sure that she did want to be alone. It was an inner torment that Emma had to deal with, to be alone and strong and actually admit she had feelings and love someone else like she had loved Scott.

oOOo

The incessant ringing of the door bell awoke many people late at night, however, Ororo Munroe was already awake and ran to the door. "Who would be calling at this hour?" she asked herself, Hank and Kitty were already there and sleeping in their respective rooms and no one had left the school as it was a school night, so the only person who would come knocking at their door this late at night would be a Mutant in trouble. Or the police. Ororo really hoped it wasn't the latter.

Ororo opened up the door slowly and there she saw a Japanese woman with long black hair and purple streaks and small streaks of dirt on her face and shirt, "Miss Munroe. Hi." she said in an English accent that rivalled Emma's "I was wondering if I could stay the night?"

Ororo was at a loss of what to say, who was this woman and why did she come so late? "I'm sorry" the woman said, moving her head so her hair fell over her shoulder "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Elizabeth Braddock. I am a mutant, telepath, obviously."

"Why would you want to stay here?" Ororo asked. "I mean to say, are people following you, do you need help?"

"No no, nothing like that. I would just like to stay the night and be on my way. I would pay you." the woman said, reaching into her bag but Ororo held a hand up, stopping her.

"You are free to stay the night, we have a spare room. But I would like to speak with you in the morning, we cannot allow anyone to stay but you look like you have been through a rough time and are tired."

The woman nodded her head and as Ororo moved away so Elizabeth could move past. "Thank you very much. I will be out of your hair soon enough and you can forget about me" Ororo shut the grand door and heard the locks click into place again. Ororo wondered why a telepath who looked like a normal human, was choosing to stay at this school. She could easily let herself into a hotel room and stay there, instead of being exposed to children screaming and yelling in the early morning.

But Ororo's philosophy was to let anyone stay if they wanted to, if that was an hour or a year, if they carried their weight and asked to stay then they were free to be at the school. No one was turned away, they were threatened to leave but the only time people left were by their own choice. Ororo wondered who this woman was and wished that someone could tell her. What if she was Mystique in disguise again?

"I am not Mystique if that is what you are wondering." Elizabeth said, walking up the stairs as Ororo climbed next to her "Mystique was at one time my enemy, then my equal, my inferior and now apparently my alley once again. I am not here for her or for anyone else, I am simply deprived of sleep and Xavier's was always said to be safe"

"It still is" Ororo whispered as they passed bedrooms, "But this is a school and if I find that you are here to harm the students you will wish that you were dead."

"Touchy" Elizabeth muttered. They walked in silence until Ororo stopped, Elizabeth walked two steps before she stopped and came back to Ororo. A mistake most people would make, but not a telepath, must have recently manifested Ororo thought.

"Good night, be aware that we have security cameras in all public areas and several telepaths at the school, so if you do try anything we will find you before you even have a chance to leave the mansion. Good night Elizabeth, and I hope to see you in my office by 8."

"Betsy."

"Pardon me?"

"My name is Betsey."

"Very well, good night Betsy and I hope to see you in the morning" Betsy nodded her head and shut the door to her room. Ororo gazed thoughtfully at the door, giving a small hum, who was this woman and would she be like so many others and disappear before the light of the sun shows in the morning.

"Who was that?" a voice said behind her. Ororo jumped in fright and whipped around quickly, Warren (bare chested) was standing behind her, he was holding his hands up in defence and Ororo lowered her hand that was ready to shock him.

"Warren, you can't do that" Ororo whispered, moving away from the door "You are not supposed to raise my blood level at the moment."

"Oh sorry." he apologised.

"Perfectly fine. That was just a mutant who needed shelter for the night. Odds are that we won't see her after breakfast."

"I hope she's okay" Warren said to himself

"She will be fine. She just needs to sort out her life, my guess, most mutants spend a night here to sort out their lives then they move on. I'm sure that she is just like them"

"Agreed" Ororo reached her/Logan's bedroom door and opened it a crack. "Good night Ororo" Warren whispered, moving away.

"Good night Warren. Sleep well" Ororo opened up the door and let herself in. She walked over to Logan's chest of draws and left her jacket on top, she then tried to slink over to Logan's bed and tried to get under the covers without being noticed.

Finally, she could get to sleep after a long day of people making assumptions about her life, finally she could get to sleep. Ororo sighed, trying to find a comfortable place on the bed, then she heard steady breathing become irregular for a second before an arm curled around her side and she was pulled towards Logan's warm body. She felt him kiss her neck and Ororo relaxed into Logan's body.

"Go to sleep." he muttered.

"Fine." she whispered back, rubbing his arm before she drifted off to sleep.

**Hey! Sorry this took longer than normal, I've had exam after exam and finally just finished a few days ago, and then my computer went nuts and lost like the whole chapter so I had to start again. So yeah, feel the love and love me because I just spent so long writing this to make you all happy. Another thing, I'm going away for 2 weeks on holiday, I'm brining my laptop but the odds of me updating or even writing for that matter are very, **_**very **_**small.**

**I have an issue I want to address, thinking about doing this (issues) for every other chapter, but anyway. Anorexia. Let's talk about that. You could see in this chapter I touched on it with Emma, people, everyone is perfect the way they are! Come on! I mean to say, if you feel you are fat then yes, go on a **_**healthy **_**diet. That means good green food and less sugar! Not getting rid of food completely! The "seeing rips" look is not hot or cool, it just grosses people out! But yes, everyone should eat well, eliminate fatty foods if you feel sick because guess what! It makes it worse!**

**But if you think that someone is anorexic, tell them what you think, and if you feel awkward about that here is a tip. Tell them how hot they look! People love complements like that and feel better about their body! So do it! Just tell a friend randomly how fantastic they look. Do it now. I'll take a pause for you.**

**Back? Okay, I love Kitty and Hank asking if Ororo was drunk, just a funny thing I thought to add. Big Emma and Scott fan at the moment so I'm writing a little one shot of them on the side, but don't worry, my one shots are small and they are finished in less than an hour most of the time. Vegemite is Australian and although you American's think it's gross I like it on my toast, quiet good, and it's salty so I thought Ororo could have a change and eat salty stuff.**

**So review and make a happy little vegemite in Australia happy.**


	14. Genosha

**Chapter 13**

**Genosha**

It had been two days since 3 people came to stay at the school. One of them left before the sun rose, leaving almost a hundred dollars on the pillow and a note of thanks, the next person was in the danger room, fighting out her anger of recent events, and the last person who came to stay two days ago was sitting at the table and laughing with the rest of the staff, as though he had always sat in that chair.

The woman known as Betsy had left only 6 hours after she had arrived at the school, when Logan went to investigate the room in case the woman had left any clues on who she was or what she was doing there, they found nothing except a perfectly clean room, money on the pillow and a note of thanks for their hospitality. Ororo scanned the security footage and Betsy never left her room, the door had stayed firmly shut the entire night until she had snuck out in the morning, via the window and vines.

The person fighting in the danger room was Kitty, she had spent the last few days happily at the school, bringing along a happy and joyful aura that Ororo didn't even know they were missing. However, during the day at some point, Emma and Kitty had gotten into a fight. Ororo didn't want to know what it was about but Kitty was so upset that she tried to phase Emma through a wall and leave her there. Emma fought back in her diamond form until Logan had to physically separate the two women.

And the last person who arrived two days ago was Hank, who was currently sitting at the table and laughing at one of Remy's stories of the 'Good old days' before he had met Logan and was living as a thief, and quickly returning to that life when he split from Logan in Mexico. Ororo wasn't really paying attention but laughed in the right places.

To speak the truth Ororo was slightly bored. She had been doing the same old thing for the last week and she was tired of it. Usually by now the team would be discussing missions and tactics down in the basement while they dressed. Obviously Ororo's outfit no longer fitted but she was already in the process in making a uniform that would allow changes in body mass more easily. It was tricky but she would not be left behind.

Soon the table conversation turned away from people who had spiked themselves to the wall with their own mutation when drunk to something that interested Ororo. Genosha. "What is Genosha, exactly?" Peter asked.

"You all know how Erik was cured in the phoenix war a couple of years back?" Hank asked, everyone nodded as did Logan and Ororo, although they held much more regret and misery about the war than the others, having lost Jean, Scott and Professor Xavier. "Well, his mutation returned not long after, he steadily returned to power but he was smart this time. Declaring war again after being tricked by us was not the best tactical idea so he acquired land surrounded by miles and miles of sea and deemed it a safe haven for Mutants, calling it Genosha."

"But we know nothin' about it." Logan growled.

"Agreed." Hank replied, suddenly he sounded more serious and business like. Immediately Ororo perked up, begging that she was right, that Hank was proposing something "This Mutant Haven has only been established in the last year, thousands of Mutants have flocked there but no one in the government knows if this place is legitimate, if Magneto is treating everyone equally. I was wondering the other day if any of you knew if this place was safe as it seems?"

No one answered, Ororo was practically bouncing in her chair before she volunteered what she thought "I propose that we go and see this 'safe Haven' if Magneto is being truthful and he is using his power for the good of mutant kind then there is no harm, but I think it best we go to make sure."

"I agree" Kurt announced. "Vhat if Magneto is treating these mutants horribly? I think it is our job to make sure that everyvone is getting a good chance at a happy and normal life."

"Yeah" Rogue grumbled "or end up lhike me and blue boy here." she said, nodding her head towards Kurt.

"Hey!"

"Face it, we ain't normal!" she told Kurt "Are mom is a crazy blue freak who tried to kill us!" Kurt sagged a little bit before Rogue took pity and hugged him, "Sorry Kurt, but ya gotta face the facts...she ain't gonna come back any thime soon." She told him. Kurt shrugged her off and kept stony faced as he ate the rest of his lunch.

So it was decided, tomorrow was Saturday, and after morning activities were over they would all travel by jet to see Magneto and check out Genosha for what it really was. Ororo wondered what Magneto was thinking when he made up his society, if it was actually a society and not just a camp for his warriors. Ororo got up first from the table and went to the kitchen, cleaned her plate and moved outside to the gardens to where various students were sitting about or playing games. It was getting colder every day and Ororo could feel it was going to bring the winter snow soon enough, then she would actually have to wear a jacket for warmth.

Ororo was lucky enough with her mutant ability that she didn't feel the temperatures like everyone else as harshly. She only wore a light jacket in the cold autumn air while most others were forced into the heat of the building or warmer jackets or sweatshirts. Ororo's light jacket just fitted over her stomach, she felt almost a swell of pride as she felt the tighten of the jacket when she buttoned it up this morning.

A sudden gust of wind blew Ororo's white hair everywhere, getting into her vision. Ororo pulled it out of her eyes and shivered, yep, she was going to need something warmer when she goes outside now.

The first bell rang, alerting students that certain lunch time activities were about to begin. Some students moved inside but Ororo stood where she was, just watching them move away or some students moving outside. Logan would be down in the danger room now, awaiting the students before they would start on a training session. Ororo wondered if she was bored enough to actually go down there and watch the students be yelled at to 'work as a team' but at the same time 'don't pay attention on what he's doing! Just kill the thing!' which confused the children.

Ororo sighed again, rubbing her stomach a little. Out of the corner of her eye she could see someone coming her way, it took her a second more to see that it was only Remy. She could tell he was trying to be sneaky but didn't want to scare her, so he was only being partly himself at the moment. But as Rogue had often said, any part of him was too much.

"Bonjour Ororo!" he greeted.

"Afternoon Remy, is there any reason you are here or do I have to continue the lunch time monitoring duty?" Ororo asked, watching the Remy stick his hands further down his trench coat. "Or do you just like to stand here in the cold?"

"Oh it's been so long since I heard a joke that funny!" Remy said sarcastically, "No no, I just wanted to ask you about the Genosha mission tomorrow."

"Well, I'm actually very proud to say that after watching you interact and working with the team on non-action missions, such as just working out plans of attack then watching myself and the others leave that you might be ready." Ororo turned to Remy and rested her hands by her sides, "Your monitored sessions in the Danger room with the others are perfect, you work with the team but at the same time, thinking of yourself and individuals, there are areas which you could work on. Such as **not** aggravating Emma, Rogue, Logan, actually let's just make it everyone."

"Uh, Ororo, you cannot change a tiger's stripes, you know that as well as I do."

Ororo nodded, this was not a laughing matter, "I agree, but there are points where it's not funny anymore. But I do like how you never joke around on Danger segments or when we are preparing for a mission. So, you are coming tomorrow, I have your uniform downstairs, and we can go down when you want to make sure it fits." Remy's face lightened up and he scooped Ororo up in a tight embrace, Ororo was surprised before she smiled and hugged Remy back because she was thinking the same thing. Yes, Remy was on the team. The only person who didn't treat her like glass.

After a good minute Remy dropped her on the ground again "I have a small request." He asked.

"Ask away." Ororo replied, still a little flustered.

"Could I wear my coat? Just that I always do and I can't stand not wearing it and beating someone up."

Ororo looked him up and down and assessed the coat, it was rather old but unlike most of Remy's possessions, looked to be in better condition even though it had slightly scuffed look with age and, previously indicated, adorned with battle scars. But it looked sturdy and Ororo had seen Remy battle in the Danger room with it on and it looked like an extension of his body, flowing with his body like a tail behind him. Never getting burnt by the flames or cut by Logan, as though Remy watched out for the coat but at the same time used it to protect himself.

The coat also had other uses, such as keeping many packs of cards in the various pockets, his favourite weapon. When Rogue had asked why he kept playing with his cards, he had answered 'Well, it's like having fifty two explosives tucked away in one little pocket.' So having the coat would not be a big deal, it was actually as much as uniform as Ororo's cape or Rogue's gloves, they didn't have much use and sometimes got in the way, but they were a part of them, and Ororo felt slightly behind without her cape billowing behind her in battle.

"Of course Remy!" Ororo finally said, "Wear your coat, I am totally fine with it!"

Remy gave a Mona Lisa smile, before he pushed Ororo aside, "Merci Stormy! I appreciate all of this, and as a small sign of thanks you can go inside into the warmth!" Ororo tried to resist, pushing back.

"Oh no, I enjoy being outside-"

"No no! I insist! Go inside and leave old Remy out in the cold to watch the children! You should kick back anyway, go go!" he said, forever pushing Ororo towards the direction of the doors.

Ororo sighed and gave up and kept walking away. She could tell that Gambit was doing her a favour, but in reality she was going to be bored as hell watching the teens battle fake foes while Wolverine yelled at them to work together, he would be putting himself in danger saving those who did not listen, sweating while he ran through the fires, feeling those burns heal under her fingers while she trailed her mouth of his other healing wounds-

Stop! She shouldn't be thinking like that! That was totally inappropriate!

Ororo rolled her eyes. She could think however she wanted now, no one would read her mind. Ororo went back to what she was imagining before, Logan holding her up in the middle of a deserted locker room, feeling his rough face caress her jaw while she slowly pulled down the zipper to his uniform.

"Keep your dirty thought to yourself!" Emma hissed as she passed. "You're projecting them and I can't get them out of my head!"

Ororo did not blush, however she felt slightly mortified and almost jogged to the elevator that would take her down to the viewing station where she would watch Logan in peace...or an equivalent of peace where she wouldn't have to mind about a telepath listening in to her hormonal induced fantasies.

oOOo

The next day Ororo woke up before even Logan was awake, and that was something. Ororo sometimes wondered if the man ever slept, but there it was, the evidence that Logan did indeed sleep after 4 in the morning. He looked so peaceful, Ororo reached forward to brush a stray hair from his face but she stopped, her hand hovering just a few inches from his head.

She didn't want to wake him, she hardly ever got to see that he had a peaceful night's sleep, and they had a mission today. Maybe she would just don her new uniform and test it out. As quietly as she could Ororo slipped out of bed, she slinked over to her draw and pulled out items she would wear to get to the Danger room.

Ororo was actually very proud how fast she was able to dress and in complete silence, but also that Logan hadn't woken up yet. She was used to him waking suddenly in the night at the slightest noises, or even hear when she tried to get up in the night to get a midnight snack or to throw up (yes, she wasn't over that yet). Ororo opened the door slowly before turning back to look at Logan, before she left him.

As Ororo walked swiftly through the hall she felt as though she was being watched, but how could she? It wasn't dawn but it was not night, it was in the calm in between, and no one would be awake. Ororo narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she looked in the shadows, maybe she was just over reacting.

Ororo pushed the button for the elevator and she thought she could hear a footstep, she quickly looked around.

No one was there.

Maybe the earliness of the morning was making her imagine things. The opening of the elevator was extremely loud as it sounded in the empty corridor, Ororo gave one last glance out the hall before she got in the confining space and let the door shut behind her. The elevator made a fast trip down to the basement and Ororo was glad to be out of the small area, she hated that small space.

Ororo sighed in relief, she didn't feel eyes on her down here, and she felt safe. But who wouldn't? The walls of the assorted halls were solid metal and the danger room was protected for any sort of attack. They always used this area if the school was attacked as no one could get in once the doors were shut except Kitty, Ororo entered the locker room and went straight for her locker.

She felt comfortable enough that no one was watching to just undress there, she was down to her underwear before long and reached inside to pull out her new uniform. It was similar to her last uniform, the black and the cape, but instead of all leather it was black spandex in the form of a swimsuit. It showed some cleavage and with the amount of blood pumping around her body at the moment and the promises of discomfort of coming months Ororo thought it best that she be cool at all times.

The spandex, unlike the leather, would have more give on growing body parts until Ororo had to remake her uniform again. Pulling on some new knee long black boots Ororo felt more comfortable already. A new uniform for her new growing body, back in her rightful place in the fight, Ororo saw herself in the mirror and just loved the bump she had.

It wasn't very big but it had finally gotten past that awkward place where it looked like she had big lunch and it was well on its way on growing, it was getting bigger and Ororo could actually cup her hand underneath quite well. It did make other things awkward, such as dressing in non-maternity skirts and pants and other activities but Ororo felt confident enough that she could still run and fly. Ororo had done research and Rogue had shown her pictures of what the pregnant stomach was meant to look like and Ororo was surprised to see it was actually smaller than a normal woman's stomach at 18 weeks. But everyone was different, that's what Rogue had told her, most women even said they went to bed without a stomach and woke up to one, it was all to do with the weight, height and baby.

As the door to the locker room opened up Ororo felt like she was being watched again, looking around Ororo tried going down the hall, looking into the dark empty rooms. The clacking of her boots sounded through the echoing halls, maybe it was nothing, Ororo reasoned with herself and she looked into the hanger for the jet, there was no one there and she was just imagining it.

Leaving the jet behind Ororo walked in the opposite direction until she reached the Danger room, she played with the strap of the cape as she entered, the lights flashing on at once. "Computer, run simulation _African Storm _on level 2" she said aloud.

Immediately the room represented the African planes of the savannah, Ororo could feel the hot sun beating down, the grass filled with animals in peaceful midday slumber. It was almost like home, except, of course, the fact it didn't feel as natural. No matter what, the Danger room was never going to be like Africa. In the time that Ororo had lived with the X men she had only been home a maximum of 20 times and they were all business. She had maybe 3 elongated trips to see her old village and friends but that hadn't been for awhile and she started to miss it. If she had time she was defiantly going to go back this year.

Ororo was so lost in her own world she failed to notice the area around her becoming hotter until she could see the flames in front of her face, summoning the winds to lift her into the sky Ororo tried to see the extent of the damage the fire had caused. Level 2 of African Storm was far easier compared to the level Ororo usually did, but she didn't want to push herself too hard unless she had, level 2 only contained a fire and Ororo had to rescue the citizens of the small village nearby. But Ororo had to find the village through the smoke.

Ororo flew over the smoke, staying out of the way and above it so she could see, then she saw a few small huts high above the ground. With a determined look on her face Ororo flew directly above the small village and summoned up her storm powers, the rumble above her head alerted her that it would soon start raining and she best get out of the way and save some of the villagers, tell them where to go. Also she really didn't want to get her new uniform wet, the segment might not be real but the effects sure were, the flames still tickled her body if she passed to close, she felt the heat, was blinded and choked by the smoke. It was real in the sense that you can still die here.

Of course the Danger room would never kill anyone, push them to their limits, almost kill them. But it would never kill a person. That was one of the programs that the professor inserted when he was building the danger room with Scott.

The first raindrop hit the flames below and Ororo swooped down after it, picking up a small child off the ground before it would be engulfed by the computer generated flames. The rain was quickly drenching the flames and soon enough the segment would be over, she placed the child on the ground next to another adult who had escaped the danger.

Maybe if she had time she could try level 4, that one involved some combat. So far her stomach didn't really put her off balance, must be because she did frequent yoga and always had to balance herself in the sky. After the last fire was out Ororo wiped the cloud from the sky, then went to salvage and save anyone who was left behind.

Goddess this is boring, Ororo thought to herself. Without the fear that something could jump on her any moment the Danger room segment was rather dull. Ororo loved feeling that fear, not know when something was going to happen, unsure of actions made by others. It was thrilling!

Ororo finally finished the segment when suddenly everything froze, "What-oh no, the danger room better not be malfunctioning" Ororo muttered, she turned slowly trying to see what had frozen, everything except herself was frozen. Then everything was wiped away from the room and she was left in the circular metal room again, staring up at the control centre at Warren. Glaring.

Smiling weakly Ororo waved, making her way over to the door. As she reached the controls the doors slid open and immediately Ororo was backed away by him as he asked her with fury, "What do you think you are doing? You could have been killed! Ororo you are doing a Danger room segment by yourself without anyone else around here! What the hell would you have done if you got knocked out?"

Warren's wings fluttered before staying above his head in a frightening matter, however Ororo would not back down. "Calm down Warren-"

"CALM DOWN!" he yelled. "You are 4 and a half month pregnant woman in a tight uniform, flying above a burning city with no one watching at half past 5 on a Saturday!"

"Really? It's that time already?"

"Don't try to change the topic!" Warren's wings moved suddenly, pushing the hair off Ororo's face "This is dangerous Ororo! Do you know how worried I was when I saw that you were in here? What if you had fallen and hurt the baby?"

Ororo glared, "Warren, I would **never** hurt the child. I was exercising, I have barely broken a sweat."

"And exercising consists of you flying above a fire?"

"In my case, yes."

Warren glared, Ororo was surprised by his outburst, she had never seen him so upset about something like this. He actually caught Ororo out and told her what he thought, screw politeness. "Look, I know I'm not Logan. But please, do this, go up to level 20 or 100 I don't care, well I do care a bit, but just don't do it alone!" he asked, although the way her asked it was more of an order.

Ororo glared up at him before her gaze softened, he had good intentions, she had to give him that. "Thank you for your concern Warren. I had no idea that you thought this."

"Well, you're welcome" Warren still yelled, "Sorry" he apologised, softer. "I won't say anything to Logan or the others if you please promise that you will tell someone you are down here and have someone watching you." Warren put his hand on Ororo's shoulder. "If you want to practice some more, I could-"

"No no, it's fine" Ororo said, "I'm just going to get ready to leave." She smiled up at him and removed his hand and walked past him. Ororo moved back to the locker room and to the showers. Warren just stared after her and after a moment she heard the doors slam shut with him still inside the danger room. Ororo felt slightly frustrated that she had to have all this special treatment. But if was good that Warren cared that much about her and the child that he would point something like this out. But she was still mad.

oOOo

A few hours after midday the X men assembled near the jet, getting ready for the flight to Genosha. Warren and Bobby opted to stay behind with Emma, who happened to get in a argument with Rogue and called her a 'Southern Tart' to which Rogue got upset and touched Emma, as Rogue would not sit in a small space with her for 3 hours on their flight.

Logan was extremely annoyed as there was no excuse as to why Ororo had to go. So with a smug smile, Ororo walked right onto the jet and sat in her chair followed by Logan, who both at once on the plane covered their noses, the thick scent of sweet perfume was everywhere and Ororo felt like this was the wrong decision to go if she had to live with this. "Jesus Kitty, could you choose a perfume that wouldn't make me want to gag." He asked the closet female who often used the fragrance.

"What are you talking about?" Kitty asked as she phased through the back door, she immediately covered her nose and stumbled back. "This was _so_ not me!"

"Well who was is?" Rogue asked, waving the smell away with her hand. Ororo did the same so she was able to get some breathing space.

"I don't know." Kitty reasoned, "I haven't seen this stuff since yesterday, I thought Tabby stole it." Kurt suddenly transported onto the jet and the smell of perfume was combined with sulphur actually made it worse. "Kurt!" Kitty yelped.

Kurt looked at her in confusion before strapping himself into a chair, "Ready to roll Ororo!"

"Kurt's right, there is nothing we can do to get rid of the smell. By the time we start flying the air will start to filter and we will be able to breathe easy again." Ororo said, pressing the right button so that when Peter and Hank climbed into the jet the door was able to come up. She was going to have a very long talk with Tabby when she got home, just because she was mad with a few members of the team didn't mean she was allowed to make them all suffer "Now let's get going." Ororo said, strapping herself in and almost suffocating by the smell.

The first part of the trip was almost silent, either quiet talking or reading occupied the team. Kurt and Rogue had started a game of chess (Kurt moving the pieces with his tail) and Remy was playing solitaire. Logan was poking his claw in and out, making himself bleed and it started to irritate Ororo a bit, she really hated long trips with Logan. "Logan, stop that." She asked, not looking at him.

Logan apparently didn't hear her, and kept popping his claw in and out, watching it heal over and over. Ororo rolled her eyes "Logan stop that, you're getting blood on the floor."

Logan leant back in his chair and stopped "Sorry, just that I hate flying and there is nothing to do."

"Stop being a pain and go do something else, play cards or something with Remy. Just don't irritate me." Logan huffed and got gingerly out of his chair, moving towards the back. He moved past everyone else but Ororo wasn't bothered to watch him anymore, let him be himself.

"What's wrong _mon ami_?" she heard Remy ask, in the reflection of the wind screen she could see that Logan was near the very back to the jet, just in front of the door that held all the equipment.

"We have a stowaway." Ororo quickly pressed all the buttons to set it on temporary auto-pilot before she swiftly turned around. Logan was standing at the ready in front of the door, popping all his claws out in his right hand while slamming the open button for the door with his left. He entered the room slowly with everyone watching, Ororo was worried, the perfume was an obvious cover up for the hostile person hiding away, the person wanted them in the air so they could attack.

They all waited, there were a few things crashing on the ground, before there was a female speaking. "Shit!" the woman hissed, there was more crashing, a grunt of pain from Logan before he yelled in a battle like manner to which the crashing go worse, the sound of metal cutting metal, a female yelp and it was over.

"Guess who I found." Logan announced, coming back into view and throwing a woman at the team unceremoniously, making her land on the ground with a thump. The woman was naked...and blue. Mystique. She bled from a cut on her shoulder but she tried picking herself off the ground with some dignity, her breathing clam and steady.

She laughed softly to herself "Guess you found me." she looked at all of them slowly before Rogue slammed her up against the wall by her throat, holding a bare hand to her face while her other bare hand gripped tighter around Mystique. Mystique tried to pull herself away from Rogue's deadly hand around her throat and was breathing heavy, the ghastly white skin of Rogue making the blue glow in comparison.

"What the hell are ya doing here?" Rogue hissed "and ya had betta tell meh the truth or Ah find out my way."

"How-how are you not killing me?" Mystique asked, inching away from Rogue's other hand. "I thought your cure was retracted."

"It was, but Ah worked through it and now we are gettin' off topic. What are ya doing here?"

Mystique wrenched her body away from Rogue, moving away from everyone, but she did not think of Kitty who phased through everyone to grab Mystique, there was a struggle but eventually Kitty phased Mystique through a wall and held here there. "You make one move and you get a wall in your body, as deaths go, it's not one of the funniest."

Mystique huffed and stopped moving, however was cautious about her position, "You want the truth? The government is hunting me down, they found out I was Valerie Cooper so I'm going for plan B. Which consists of me, Genosha and a way to get there fast."

"Why would you sneak onto the jet though? Why not come up to the door?" Hank asked. His blue fur up on end from the recent fight that could have broken out.

Mystique snorted, "As if you want to help me." Kitty moved her further through the wall "Hey! Look, I needed to get to Genosha desperately, but I have no way to get me there fast. I heard Mr McCoy out in your gardens making preparations, and you really have to upgrade security."

"Excuse us for not bein' prepared for a sneaky back-stabbing bitch lhike you" Rogue snarled.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Mystique hissed. "Know your place girl."

"Ah'll talk to you any damn way Ah want!" Rogue yelled "Why would you join Magneto again? He betrayed you if ya haven't forgotten!"

"You daft girl! I remember that bastard left me for dead, what you don't know is that he has something that I need." She yelled. "And let me out of this god damn wall! I want to talk to my daughter you little-" Kitty yanked her out of the wall and threw her on the ground. "Oh that is it!" she launched herself at Kitty but thankfully Peter was able to knock her out of the way.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Peter glowered, but Mystique gaze did not falter.

She glared around the room, still in battle stance "I don't want to harm you." She reasoned "I need to go to Genosha and after I get what I need I'm going to punch Magneto in the face."

Kurt snorted and everyone stared at him, "Sorry" he apologised.

"Look, she hasn't done anything so far" Ororo started, holding up her hands to the on coming team, she walked towards Mystique who had lessened her stance and was trying to look intimidating at the same time, Ororo was only a foot from her and she could see that Mystique was tired, her body was weak from sitting in a cramp area for an hour and being on the run from the government for god knows how long, "We will take you to Genosha and we will leave you there. You have obviously caused a lot of trouble at the school and we can't allow you a place there."

"You told me that if I was in trouble I could return." She hissed, her gaze hardened.

"That may be true but since we are on our way to a safe zone you can stay there. Out school is simply a stop to Genosha most of the time now. Mutants who aren't teachers or students stay there for only a short while before making the journey." Ororo said back in the same tone. "We will give you a free trip but nothing more."

"I can't stay there, I must come back, I _need _to come back."" Mystique whispered, but Ororo's glared still and Mystique took this upon herself to take another step move closer to Ororo "You don't know what you are doing, going there." Mystique hissed in her face. Ororo backed down and moved back towards the controls.

"I have a pretty good idea Mystique. Take a seat, all of you, and if you try anything Mystique you have a choice of being electrocuted, stabbed, phased through a wall, blown up or being transported out of a flying jet."

"Nice to give me a choice" Mystique answered sarcastically, taking a seat in the front of the jet where Logan was sitting before. Logan growled and Mystique kept glaring forward. "You want to find Genosha, you need my help." She told him. Logan growled again, touching Ororo's should with his hand and moved away to the back of the jet in the only spare seat, which happened to be near Rogue and Kurt. "Plus my own children don't want me near them." Mystique whispered to herself and Ororo could swear that Mystique might have let a tear fall.

oOOo

"There" Mystique pointed out two hours later, however as everyone leaned forward to look out the window they say nothing but fog, not wanting to give away their position Ororo flipped the switch that would allow them to see through the fog, everyone almost gasped in amazement.

Genosha was a large island in the middle of water in the middle of international waters, therefore no one could control it and it was mostly by chance that Magneto was able to find it at all. The island had sandy shores and hanging cliffs, grass and forests all over, however it wasn't all natural. Being the commander of magnetism had an advantage as all the buildings and statues were made of metal, all shiny and new, towering over the island on the edge of the West side of the island, Ororo couldn't see much detail until they cleared the fog so she just had to trust that there were no one hostile waiting for them. Ororo rounded the island getting closer every second until she was just a mile above the city.

"Where do we land?" Ororo asked, rounding the island and seeing more buildings and peaceful land, Mystique seemed to be waiting for something. "Mystique?" Ororo asked again, looking at the woman.

"Why do you assume we get to land?" Mystique asked without a smile. Unexpectedly the jet stopped, Ororo panicked and started to press all the buttons, **NO**! If Magneto had found they were here they were in a worse fate than expected. Oh what would she do? The _Blackbird _started to move above the city and they were unable to see below, Ororo started to look wildly around, trying to find where Magneto could be controlling them by. Would they be dropped into the ocean? Would he kill them all when they met? What on earth was Magneto planning?

"Oh my god! What do we do?" Kitty asked as the jet flew over the last building and neared the ground again.

"You do nothing" Mystique told her, she lifted herself out of the chair to get a better look outside and hissed when she saw someone, "Don't try a thing, if you do, you die. And most likely by your own power Kitty Cat"

Ororo did the same thing, holding her stomach for balance and she noticed 3 beings on top of a wide roof of a very large building surrounded by gardens, further away from the city, one of them had their hands above their head and Ororo took that to be Magneto but the other two people were a mystery at the moment. Ororo leant back in the chair and did her seat belt up again. "Prepare for landing everyone, there are three possible hostile mutants, only one identity known as Magneto. Try nothing funny and if Mystique has something to say you better damn well listen to her."

Mystique looked very smug as Ororo said the last part and Ororo gritted her teeth as she waited for impact, heading faster and faster towards the group of people, at this rate if Magneto let go of the jet they would all crash into the garden and die, but hopefully he wanted them alive. Ororo watched intently as the jet grew yard by yard closer to Magneto, then suddenly, they stopped. Ororo's body kept going forward and that put strain on her stomach, she hissed in pain as she rubbed where the seat belt had tightened around her bump, she hoped it didn't hurt the baby but right now she had bigger problems. Ororo looked up again to look out the windscreen and saw Magneto putting them down on the roof, smiling arrogantly. Idiot, Ororo thought.

But the bigger problem at the moment was the other two mutants by his side, the male with stark white hair like Magneto and wearing a uniform with a lightning bolt down the middle, while the female wore scarlet red, her long black hair being tossed by the wind of the jet. "Oh no" Kurt muttered. "This is trouble, big trouble"

The door of the jet opened and Ororo took that as a sign that Magneto wanted them out, so with some difficulty she undid her belt and got out of her seat, she made her way down the aisle to get off, but as she neared the back Logan grabbed her arm and stopped her "What are you doing? You should stay here."

"Logan let me go" Ororo said under her breath, yanking her arm away, "This is a fact finding mission and nothing more, Magneto would not harm us for that" she turned away from Logan and followed Hank out of the jet, but Ororo was scared that Magneto might attack them, they had nothing that Magneto wanted and Magneto might take great pleasure in torturing a few of them since they made him 'one of them', only a short while but if Ororo ever found her powers were gone, each day would be an eternity.

Ororo turned back and watched as Rogue finally left the jet before the doors closed. As a team they walked together to Magneto and the two mystery mutants, Ororo grew both more scared with each step, what did Magneto want? Oh dear Goddess, please let it be nothing and he just wants to give a tour of the island! Ororo would have laughed at herself, yeah right the tour was going to happen.

"Welcome X men to Genosha!" Magneto said, raising his arms above his head, Ororo stopped and as did the rest of the team, she was unsure of Magneto, was he luring them into a trap or did he actually want to see what his Utopia really was? Magneto's gaze lingered on all the X men before stopping on Mystique who he smiled at "My dear, have you come back to join me?"

Mystique tensed and stepped forward with anger "You son of a-" abruptly she was cut off when a blur of green knocked her off her feet.

Magneto tutted "Such language." He tutted "and I thought we worked that all out." The woman next to Magneto coughed, telling Magneto that she was standing behind him "How rude, I have forgotten to introduce you." Magneto said, gesturing to the people next to him, "This is my son and daughter, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch."

"Nice names, but is there something shorter we can call them?" Kitty asked.

"Oh I thought we were all so proud of our code names Shadowcat" Magneto teased, "May I introduce Wanda and Pietro, they, along with myself will be your tour guides for the rest of the afternoon." Ororo almost fainted, her sarcastic guess at what Magneto was going to do with them was actually real!

"Come this way" Wanda gestured to the stairs that lead them from the roof to the garden, Pietro rounded on them and stuck to the back of the group. Ororo glanced back to Logan who caught her eye for a second then turned back to the garden, Ororo walked away from him, he shouldn't ignore her, she needed to talk to him to ask what he thought of the situation as his opinion mattered to her. Mystique did not leave the group but rather hung around the back near Pietro but at the same time not close enough to actually talk to him.

The gardens were marvellous, much grander than the one back home. Ororo gathered this must be Magneto's home as it was majestic and imposing just like him, it was half a mile higher than the city and just as far overlooking the ocean, it was perfect. Ororo walked away from the group and instead bent down to smell a rose instead, the scent was fresh and light and at the angle the sun was making it looked redder than blood.

"My my Ororo" she heard a calm older voice ask, she knew it was Magneto, she slowly righted herself up and smiled at the older man who was smiling back with his hands behind his back. Ororo held her stomach slightly while she went back to looking at the roses again before she walked around to get back to the main group. "You have been up to a lot lately that I can see. Congratulations."

"Yes, thank you" Ororo answered, looking at a white rose as the passed, "I see you are busy yourself, taking over a small country and making an entire city with only your bare hands."

"It is nothing, it is only to protect my fellow Mutants." Magneto told her, as they passed a fountain made of metal "If only Charles were here to see this place, a home for those who cannot live with humans any more. A home without war or prejudice, the mutants here are safe and I do not intend to seek to disrupt that peace here, just to protect them." Ororo turned back to him only to have a yellow rose held out to her in a slack hand. Ororo smiled as she took it from him and walked slowly around with him, looking over the barrier to the city below.

Ororo played with the rose in her hand before she finally took it and tucked it in her hair, missing the thorns. She saw further away that Peter had given a few roses to Kitty already and she was twirling it around in her hand while Peter had a rose in his hand. A few yards from them Remy had stuck a rose in Rogue's hair who blushed, ah, young love and some flirting. Ororo saw that Logan was following her and that he was watching with a keen eye, Ororo turned her head slightly and mimed at him to check out the area for her while Magneto was distracted, Logan nodded and passed her quickly. Logan's hand brushed hers and she felt him put something into it, Ororo watched him as he went over in the other direction then looked down into her hand, there she saw a deep blood red rose. The rose was perfect and Ororo held it in her hand, touching the perfect petals. She lifted it to her nose and inhaled the smell of the rose and the fading scent of Logan, it was wonderful.

Magneto lead her over to a metal platform with bars near the edge of the cliff, everyone soon followed, Logan being the last one. He walked over to Ororo and not wanting to give anything away about their relationship he merely brushed her hand again but the soft smile made all the difference to Ororo. Magneto led Ororo over to where he would stand so they could continue their conversation as Wanda told the others that they would now be transported over to the city so they could see the city from ground level. "Hold on tight Storm, wouldn't want anyone falling off now." And with that Ororo gripped the bar with one hand, the other holding her rose from Logan, although she knew if she did fall off she could easily fly back on.

Wanda stood next to her father and gestured to some of the taller and larger buildings as they went past "-And here in the main city. We have our apartment blocks which house families that come to us or single mutants, we are adding to this soon so we will have an apartment block by the ocean. Next to that we have our Mutant hospital where we care for those mutants who come to us after trouble with the humans, but we are in need of more doctors as there are so many hurt mutants every day that we try to care for." The building that Wanda was talking about was near the centre of the city and was just as big as the apartment block but with a large cross on the top and bigger entrance. "We have recently added our post traumatic stress wing as well as maternity."

They flew over the buildings and started to near the middle of the city which had a large fountain in the middle, many people were there and were playing in the city, laughing and flying, or talking to others, it looked so peaceful and relaxed, maybe Magneto really had made a Utopia. No one here was out casted and they all felt at home enough to use their powers in public. As the shadow of their transport floated over the mutants below the people looked up and waved at them, Ororo smiled and waved back and watched as they went back to playing.

"What do mutants do as a job here?" Hank asked, taking out his tape recorder to Pietro who leaned it.

"Mutants here work as they normally do, we all share the work equally and we all share the benefits evenly. No one works harder than others and no one gets more money than anyone else. We have our teachers, security, doctors and other jobs just like you do." Pietro answered, smiling with bright white teeth.

"Is that true?" Ororo asked Magneto as they started to land next to the ocean as Wanda pointed out the day care centre. "That everyone is equal?"

"Yes, unlike the humans we treat people equally. Our local celebrities who entertain us are treated the same as anyone else. We are a close community and we all help each other to try and feel at home."

"Amazing" Ororo said in awe as they landed. "Would you mind if we see the city on foot?"

"I was going to let the others, I thought in your condition-"

"I am in no condition, I might be pregnant but I am able to walk" Ororo glared. Magneto simply smiled at her and placed the platform soundlessly on the ground. Everyone walked off and made their way back to the city centre. Ororo noticed that everything, including the ground, was made of shiny metal, but the contrast of the metal and the green of the grass was perfect. Ororo looked over her shoulder at the others and saw that a sunset was already starting, the time difference was setting them off and they should be getting home when it started to get dark so they were able to make it back before dinner at the institute.

The group walked past the buildings towering over them directed by Wanda who was talking to Hank on the side about how the buildings were built and how they were updated. As they passed a building they saw down a hundred steps to amphitheatre near the beach. People were sitting down there already and people were professionally making their way around the stage. "Later tonight we have a concert by Dazzler who you must see" Wanda told them all. "She is a celebrity in San Francisco but her heart belongs in Genosha she has always told us."

"Magneto" Hank asked, "How do you acquire the food for so many people when most counties won't allow ships to deliver products here."

"Excuse me Storm" Magneto said, leaving her side to walk with Hank. Ororo was slightly glad, the way that Magneto was glancing at her stomach was putting her off slightly. As they walked past the stairs a group of children ran past them, and Ororo recognised two of them. One was the boy she saw at the hospital when she found she was pregnant, he looked happy and was actually playing with the children even with his gills.

The other child was the real Megan Gwynn. Ororo heard Rogue gasp as the child flew past with her bright wings. Ororo looked around and saw that Mystique was watching the children run past as well, although with more hatred. "Why did you choose her?" Ororo asked, making Mystique snap her head towards her.

"Choose who?" and kept walking on, ignoring Ororo.

"The child with wings?" Ororo asked, "The _real_ Megan"

"Do you not see her?" Mystique asked, gesturing towards the young girl with her head "An obvious mutation would stop you asking questions, the body and face of a young child would not lead anyone to suspect her, it was a tactical choice and you know it. Kurt and Rogue never assumed to ask themselves if a shape shifter was the child, they never asked why I did things, and they allowed it because I _was_ Megan Gwynn. You have never met the child and you never would so I took her identity." Mystique explained. "Before I left to look for my son I saw Megan as a much younger child getting ready for the boat, I needed an identity so I found out what I could from her on her way to Genosha. She told me everything."

Ororo nodded her head in agreement but watched as Mystique went rigid and walked quickly off next to Logan. Ororo furrowed her eye brows and found what Mystique was freaked out about. It was the same woman that had stayed at the institute just a few days ago, Betsy, she was being dragged off by two guards. "Oh dear, it seems as though we found our burglar" she said, glancing at Pietro before she turned back to the rest of the group, "In Genosha we have a very low crime rate but for those who need to have some time out we take them to a safe, calm, isolated area before we allow them to try again in our society."

"I must see this area" Hank whispered loud enough so Ororo could hear. Ororo agreed, she had to see this area as well. She looked back to Magneto and saw that he was telling Mystique something in a low voice before she pushed him away, he must want her back, Ororo thought. Maybe they should take Mystique back, she really didn't want to be here longer than necessary.

Wanda stopped them in the middle of the city again, her and her father standing underneath that fountain while the rest of them watched. "That is only a small tour of our city, there is much more to see. And you must see Dazzler, she is one of our greatest entertainers." Wanda said.

"The X men cannot be leaving so abruptly" Magneto said, acting in surprise "You must stay for the concert and dinner, then see the city at night, it is simply marvellous then."

"We shouldn't" Ororo told him "We have left a lot of hungry children at the school with not many guardians and we cannot go around the city like this." Ororo said, gesturing at their uniforms.

"Speak for yourself" Remy muttered, watching Rogue in her uniform, who when she saw she was being watched punched Remy in the stomach, "Yeah, we shouldn't stay like this." He grunted as he bent slightly.

"Do you really think that we have no clothes fit for you on an entire island? I'm sure that something can be found for yourself and your team. Stay and see the island and then report whatever you want about us." Magneto asked again.

Ororo took a deep breath and looked at everyone, Rogue, Remy, Hank, Peter, Kitty and Kurt were all nodding, Mystique just glared and Logan just stared ahead. His opinion mattered most to her, if he said they should go, they should go, if he said they should stay, they should stay. But so far he was making no indication of his thoughts, should she stay or go? Ororo didn't know, she felt they should stay to investigate more but she wanted to go back to be with the children, Logan had an inserted fear factor about these sort of things, this time and this time only she would listen to him. She glanced back at Logan and saw that he gave a swift nod. Yes, he wanted to investigate the island more.

Ororo turned back to Magneto and Wanda "We would love to stay for the evening" she smiled. Hoping to Goddess this was the right thing to do.

**I just want to say "OH MY GOD! MYSTIQUE IS BACK! YEY!" sorry, she is just my favourite character, speaking of her, join this group of facebook "I'm just Raven Darkholme...lol jk, I'm Mystique Bitch!" It doesn't have many members and they need some more. Second of all, we need more members for "1 million to save Wolverine and the X men" please join, I really want this show to finish! **

**In this we can see Ororo in her original comic intended universe, I wanted to add that in because it is sexy as hell and would have more of a give in the case of a baby bump instead of the movie uniform. And we have here in this chapter the real Megan! Yeah! I have twisted her character a little bit, but this is my story so get over it. I just would like to say about the tricks they have with Kitty, if you phase someone through a wall and leave them there, they will DIE! You will have some wood or something through your body and you will die! There might be some cases were you won't die but for the most part if you are left in a wall you will die! Get it right movie people! YOU WILL DIE IF SOMETHING IS HALF STUCK IN YOU!**

**Anyway, nothing to say really in author notes except MYSTIQUE IS AWESOME! That is all.**

**Review and make a little girl in Australia happy.**


	15. The Man behind the Helmet

**Chapter 14**

**The Man behind the Helmet**

When Ororo agreed to stay for an evening in Genosha she was unsure if this was the right thing to do. Sure she could have more time to check out the area, Magneto hadn't exactly portrayed himself as trust worthy in the past, but was is worth it? What happened if something went wrong?

Her last words still echoed in her head as Wanda smiled warmly, she looked the perfect picture of esteemed host but at the same time an extremely excited teenager who just got a car. Magneto had his arm around Wanda shoulder before he spoke again, "I am so glad that you have all agreed to stay for the evening. I was unsure if you could stay, so if you don't mind I will have to excuse myself so I can tell the chefs of the new arrangement. I leave you in Wanda's capable hands." Wanda looked back again at all of them while Magneto stepped away and lifted himself into the air, flying himself back home.

With grace and sophistication (that seemed to decrease a little after Magneto left) Wanda led them down a metal path to the part of the high end part of the city where the shops lined each side of the street with expensive products on display (a place where Emma would perfectly fit in). "I'm sure that some of our stores will lend out clothes to you and your X-men Storm" Wanda said, as they passed a classy cafe. "Let's just find something that fits for now and then we can all travel back to the house where you can leave your uniforms in rooms, in case you choose to stay the night."

"Oh, that won't be necessary" Ororo tried to tell the young woman.

"Better safe than sorry." Wanda winked before she turned them down another street, and the end of this particular street was a store that had rich clothes out on display in the windows, the light brown feathers, the soft cream of white or the striking black, and the sparkle of diamonds and other precious jewels, they seemed to scream 'look but don't touch'. From where she stood, Ororo could tell that the clothes would have to be pretty pricy, even for her. But maybe being the ruler over a small country had to have some perks for Magneto and his family.

"Oh. My. god" Kitty said in awe as she stopped, before picking up her pace again, then turning to Wanda "What do I have to do to keep the clothes?" she asked, hands folded and begging. Ororo mentally slapped herself in the face, great Kitty, show them your weakness for expensive, designer clothes. They were all a couple of feet from the entrance when Wanda stopped them all.

Wanda smiled and said loudly so the rest of the team could hear, "If you find something that you really like, I'm sure my father will be more than happy to buy the clothes and give them to the X-men as a gift."

"That is generous of him" Hank said, Ororo was fully aware that most of his clothes had to be custom made due to his mutation, and was already aware the odds of having clothes that would fit him in a store as pretentious as this were going to be unlikely.

"Generous for all of us t' see Roguey out of dat uniform." Remy agreed, his eyes going the opposite way of up from Rogue face.

Rogue noticed before pushing his head up and his line of vision away from her breasts, "Okay, ya get one more." She pointed out, but Remy just grinned which made Rogue growl.

Wanda just smiled and led them finally in. The store was fresh, white and clean with soft classical music being played in the background, a store that most of the X men would never step in. Men and women materialised out of nowhere (some with an obvious mutation of some sort). A tall woman with a pixie cut appeared next to Wanda, "Welcome X-men! I am Janet Van Dyne and I am so pleased that some of my designs can be worn by some of our greatest heroes!" she said, holding up her hands. "I have a few suits and dresses that I'm sure that will fit, sorry, they are only simple. We weren't expecting anyone else for the day but I'm sure that we can find something." Ororo quirked one eye at this woman as she directed assistant after assistant to take an X men each and to have them fitted.

Logan, Mystique and herself were the last left with Wanda, Ororo because no one had yet to collect her and Logan because he didn't want to leave Ororo. Glancing at him and glaring, knowing that if he stayed any longer it could give away their secret, she stomped on his foot (which actually hurt a lot more than expected), Logan turned to her and she gestured with her head for him to go with the man so they could get him dressed, get this evening over with and go home.

Logan rolled his eyes and stalked off with the poor assistant racing after him. Holding her stomach Ororo wondered over to Mystique and sat on the small sofa near the entrance, knowing that she would have to go to another store to be fitted while Mystique could just materialise a dress if she wanted to wear one. One of the perks of being a shape shifter.

A shadow fell over the two women and Ororo looked up to see Wanda and Janet standing in front of her, "Ororo, we have a special dress for you." Wanda smiled, but Ororo didn't exactly trust it for a reason. None the less, she didn't want to seem rude, she pushed herself off the seat and looked behind (to only see Mystique look away from her) then followed this woman to see this dress that was made for her.

But what kind of dress could they have ready for a pregnant leader of the X-men?

Not exactly a common combination is it?

"Are you sure you have something for me?" Ororo asked as they passed Peter being pestered about ties, which Ororo knew he wouldn't really care about. "I'm sure you don't accommodate for women in my position very often."

Janet gave a careless flip of her hand, but still lead on until they reached a very large dressing room with a giant mirror so Ororo could see herself from all angles, "I make sure I'm prepared for any body type at any time. If you could wait here for a second I can bring you a dress that I think will fit." Janet turned on her heels (along with Wanda) and shut the doors to the dressing room.

Ororo stared at the door, she admitted getting dressed up for a show was a luxury she couldn't afford, time and money wise, and seeing this 'Dazzler' woman would put Ororo in a good mood, she had been a bit suspicious lately and she was certain it was getting on everyone nerves. She needed a break, yeah, she defiantly needed a break.

Ororo let out a breath of air she didn't know she was holding then rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand while walking around the room, Goddess was she tired, but she was tired of work and the baby and Logan and then the kids then work again. Slapping her hands to the side she decided she would strip down a bit, just undo her zipper, she wasn't afraid to be in the nude and Ororo was more than sure that this Janet had seen every part of a person when in the fashion business.

Undoing her cape from her wrists and her neck Ororo wondered around the room before draping her cape on a love seat near the door, she then reached out her hand to lock the door when it swung open, almost hitting her in the face. Ororo jumped back in time but she was still scowling at almost being hit in the face. Janet peered behind the door before she slammed it shut behind her and locking the door. "Oh I am so sorry, I didn't think you would be standing there!"

Ororo did not reply to her apology but rather stalked to the middle of the room near the mirror, she was in a really horrid mood now which she hoped would lighten later on but the damn baby hormones were not going to lighten up any time soon. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Ororo said in a stern voice "Let's see what you have here."

Looking though the reflection of the mirror she could see Janet put the dress bag on the love seat then opening up the bag to expose a sapphire blue dress, she then proceeded over to Ororo and held up the fabric to her skin, Ororo noted that the combination of sapphire and her skin and hair made her look like a mermaid...in a good way, the combination made her look innocent and peaceful, even her piercing blue eyes went well with the dress as it matched the colour of the dress perfectly.

Using her hand to move the fabric of the dress closer to her eyes, Janet nodded in approval. "Perfect, just like I thought." She then took the dress away from Ororo then walked back to the platform and forced Ororo around to undo the zipper at the back of her uniform. Ororo gasped, she wasn't used to this forcefulness when undressing, she was used to people asking.

Thunder cracked outside as Ororo emotion of being exposed so harshly controlled her power, Janet stepped back towards the door of the room and smiling. "I'll give you a second to dress, I just have to help out the assistants and your team mates, give me a call if you can't pull the dress up." and with that she stepped outside and Ororo was left holding the front of her uniform up. Shrugging, Ororo started to let her uniform fall but the sudden cracking of the door being opened again made her pull it up before the people on the other side would see her half naked. Instead, she just saw Mystique.

Ororo glared, turning to the blue woman. "I know you walk around naked but that doesn't mean the rest of us are as comfortable as you when thinking of others seeing them naked." Ororo snapped.

Mystique jumped across the room and slapped her hand across Ororo mouth, "Shut. Up!" she hissed at her.

Ororo glared again and used the spare hand that was not holding up her uniform to zap Mystique with the electricity that was flowing through her angry blood. Mystique jumped back but didn't make a noise, even though Ororo knew her skin must be burning at the moment. "Again, what on earth are you doing here?" she asked.

Mystique jerked her head back to Ororo and picked herself up from the floor, "I told you to leave but did you listen? No! And why? Because you trust that stupid bastard and his crazy children!"

"What do you know that I don't?" Ororo asked.

"So much that your nose would bleed from the effort" she hissed, her yellow eyes glinting. "Take me with you and I'll tell you everything."

"I told you already. No" Ororo sighed, getting sick of this dead end conversation, Ororo walked over the dress she was supposed to wear and stood there looking over the fabric as she heard Mystique growl. "You have one night with your children before they come with me...make the most of it Mystique."

"You stupid witch! Get off this island now before it's too late!"

Frustrated, Ororo summoned up her power for the winds and turning around with her right hand thrown in front of her, directed the wind to push Mystique out the room "Get out of my room now." she snarled.

Mystique was still standing but she stared back with cold dead eyes, "You will regret that." She snarled right back. Then she turned on her heels and swung the door open before leaving, letting the door slam shut behind her. Ororo rolled her eyes and went back to stripping down before she heard a crash and yelp from the hall outside, and it didn't sound like an accident. It sounded hostile.

Ororo once again held the uniform up to her chest and snuck over to her door and opened up half an inch to see what was outside, but she was surprised, as Pietro, Magneto's son, had knocked Mystique to the ground. Mystique jumped from the ground only to be swung around the hall and slammed into the wall again, sliding down slowly as Pietro darted next to her and sat down, looking at his nails. Hardly bothered at all.

"Pietro!" the booming voice of Magneto said in a hushed tone. Pietro looked up from his position on the floor and immediately stood up.

"Father, she was trying to escape." Pietro said in a monotone voice, aiming to kick Mystique again, but she was a quick learner and tripped his legs over so Pietro landed on the floor with a thump. Glaring at her, he jumped back up and aimed to kick her again, however Magneto stopped him.

"Just take her into the room, we need to have a talk my dear" Magneto leered.

Picking her up and then running with speed, Ororo heard Pietro dump Mystique into the room next to her. Magneto looked around the room slowly and Ororo ducked her head back into her room. She had to know what was going on. But how?

Looking around the room, Ororo tried to find anything that could help her listen next door. Finally, she saw a glass and a bottle of expensive water on a table next to the sofa. Running over, she picked up the glass and held it up against the wall to listen into this mysterious conversation.

"Why didn't you call my dear, I was starting to worry" Magneto said in mock sympathy.

"Spare me, you son of a bitch." Mystique hissed, there was a punching noise and a gasp.

"Pietro! Leave!" Magneto told his son, "I'll call for you but you should see to Betsy. She was quite uncooperative before."

"Fine" Pietro, then Ororo heard a 'whoosh' and Ororo knew that he must have run off.

"You!" Mystique was snarled again, "I trusted you with my life and this is how you repay me? I was a fucking human for 6 months! Do you know what it was like being in that horrible body, unable to change?" she said, hissing the last part. Ororo shuffled closer to the wall and leaned harder on the glass to hear every word. "I had a plan, it was going well. I had my children back and I could have had them back again but no, I'm stuck now on this island where one of your goons will most likely kill me."

"I gave you the chance" Magneto harshly said, "You ruined it yourself. I saved you-"

Mystique laughed, it was high and cruel and raised the hair on the back of Ororo's neck, "In what _universe_ did you save me? Hm? Was it when you took me away from my baby girl? Oh, was it when you took Irene from me? Or better yet, when you _left me for dead! _Where on earth did you save me Eric? From what I've lived through, the years at your side were in vain! I would have been better on my own."

"You owe me and you know it Mystique. I may have taken Rogue from you but she was better off, I took Irene and isn't she better here? And you weren't homo superior any more after the cure. I couldn't help you then."

"How dare you!" Mystique spat, "How could taking a mother away from her child be fine? Or her lover away from her be safe? It was your own fucking gain and you know it, and now I can't even see my children any more. The witch is leaving me here and it's your fucking fault! All of this is!"

"You still dare to contradict me-"

"Don't act all high and mighty, you were human once." There was a long pause, then Mystique chuckled again, although this time it sounded dark, "struck a nerve there, didn't I?"

Then there was a slapping noise, Ororo physically flinched at the noise. Mystique groaned, before Ororo heard Magneto talk again. This time into some sort of communication device. "Pietro, come collect Mystique. She is not safe to be let out...and check on the area surrounding the room. I want to know if anyone heard this conversation taking place."

Ororo gasped and quickly dropped her glass back on the table, dropped her uniform again so all she was in was her underwear and ripped off her boots as she staggered towards the dress. She had to dress quickly before Pietro or even Magneto asked to see her, she tossed her boot aside, pulled the dress on and tried pulling up the zipper. Oh, that was right, when you're in a rush, the dress doesn't zip up. In a panic Ororo tried pulling up the zipper in a furry.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Ororo panicked, almost tripping over her feet to go to the locked door. Shit, if this was Magneto or Pietro or even Wanda she was in trouble.

"Yes?" she said, opening the door, only finding Janet.

"I am so sorry Ororo!" Janet said, walking into the room as though she owned the place...which she technically did, "One of the assistants that was dressing Rogue didn't understand that skin was allowed now and she kept insisting-oh and then Rogue got upset-then Nightcrawler intervened-then Wolverine-"

"It's alright!" Ororo said, stopping the woman (hoping that her heavy breathing from panic wasn't noticeable). "It happens all the time at home, those two have become inseparable in the last couple of weeks and Logan has always been like that...it's actually worse at home."

"Well, I feel for you." Janet said, turning Ororo around and zipping up the dress. "There. Have a look in the mirror."

And so Ororo did as she was told and smiled at her reflection, the dress was more dazzling then what she was used to, the dress had a low v neck line and just above her bump of her stomach a sapphire jewel sparkled. But Ororo was surprised by the fact that the dress fit perfectly. Not too big that the dress dragged along the ground, not too tight that it would pinch her stomach. The dress may be second hand or on display already, but Ororo felt that Magneto knew they were going to stay...even before she even thought about Genosha.

oOOo

"That was so cool!" Kitty said, jumping up and down in her short pink dress, Dazzler's show had ended a while ago and they were being driven back to Magneto's home, Kitty was still very jumpy and was currently annoying everyone except for Pietro and Kurt...who had both joined in and were making it worse.

"Oh man" Pietro said, slapping a hand to his forehead and laughing "You are so lucky to be here tonight! That was her best show yet!"

"Kitty! Ve have to come again!" Kurt said

"You totally should!" Pietro agreed.

"Too bad" Rogue snapped, "You three seeing this show is lhike giving speedster there 20 pixie sticks without the sugar crash."

"Aw, come on!" Pietro whined. There was a blur as he moved with speed next to Rogue draped and his arm over her uncovered shoulders, Remy glared at him but Pietro was either too stupid or didn't care to move his arm. "You have to admit it was fun."

"Ya know, if Ah decided to get bored Ah could zap that fantastic power right out of ya 'bout now." Rogue asked in an innocent voice. Pietro quickly removed his arm and scooted back to Kitty and Kurt.

Ororo was watching all this from the other side of the limo, she was tired. The show, as Kitty had put it, was amazing. This woman, Alison Blaire, was a fantastic singer and her mutant ability to transform sound and vibration into lights (so during her show it was like a fireworks show) was simply amazing. Ororo could see why everyone loved her performances.

But Ororo couldn't concentrate fully during the show, Mystique was still missing and Ororo was starting to worry as no one was giving a reason as to why she was gone (unless you counted Magneto's obvious fake answer of "She is off trying to make herself at home again, hopefully she will join us later" hopefully? Yeah right) Mystique was missing and as much as Ororo really hated the woman at the present moment, they had the duty to save her. Mystique was only here to find a safe place and instead she was probably held against her will.

And hearing that fight between Magneto and Mystique only arose suspicion that Mystique was going to be in trouble. Obviously the commander of magnetism was going to be sore after his fall to the bottom of the food chain while the only women he supposed would know his pain instead threw it back in his face. Mystique was young and although she hated losing her power, obviously made a life for herself before her power re-emerged.

What could Magneto say about his time as a human other than it got from bad to worse, a weak frail man with no one to care for him and the entire world out to get him. How must that feel? To have no one, to be no one.

Ororo couldn't help but shiver at the thought of having no one, but she had to remind herself at some point she didn't have anyone, what with being an orphan on the streets. But now with Logan and a child on the way, Ororo couldn't ever imagine being alone again, she would always have someone to talk to, to love and to hold.

_Ororo? _An English voice asked in her head and immediately Ororo knew that Emma was looking in on her thoughts. _What are you still doing at Genosha? You were meant to be almost home by now!_

_Did you not get the message, _Ororo replied with her thoughts as she tried to look distracted by her nails, knowing that Pietro would report any outside communication that she had with the school, _I had told Warren that the others and I were to stay for the evening in Genosha._

_Bloody hell Ororo! You left Warren and Bobby to tend to the children while I was passed out! The children have run wild! _Emma retorted in an anger, Ororo inwardly cringed. _Look, I don't trust Magneto._

_And neither do I, _Ororo agreed.

_Then what the hell are you still doing there?_

_Magneto invited us for the evening and I feel as though something is wrong._

Ororo could almost see Emma sagging her shoulders at the fact she will have to stay in communication with Ororo due to her suspicion of Magneto, and was thankful that Ororo couldn't hear sighing. But she could still get the feeling that Emma was sighing. _Fine, I'll stay in communication with you but the second you get on that plane again I am out for the weekend. Got it?_

_Loud and clear._

Finally they arrived at their destination, the large home inhabited by Magneto and his children. The front of his was just as grand as the back, with an overlarge drive way and balconies that would overlook the forest and maybe if you were high enough, the city. It was not unlike the institute back home except the fact it was made of metal so to add or remove rooms with Magneto's power. The finally stopped near the front door and limo door was opened so Peter was the first to get out, followed by Kitty, Rogue, Gambit, Pietro and then herself (she decided to travel with the younger members of the team because she felt...well...she didn't really trust them with Pietro who looked like he would round up Kitty and Kurt to do something 'funny').

The limo left and only a few seconds later the other could be seen driving up the long drive way, Ororo knew this one would hold Wanda, Hank, Magneto and Logan. Pietro was currently talking animatedly with Kitty who was enthusiastic to join in as they both talked about the best concerts they have ever seen, next to Ororo, Rogue rolled her eyes, "Wow, doesn't anyone ever grow?"

There was a pause when out of the corner of her eye, Ororo could see that Remy was obviously checking out the low cut dress (therefore the chest region) on Rogue, Ororo was about to tell him off when Rogue, without even looking at him, punched him in the stomach.

Ororo snorted slightly with laughter, "Told ya." Rogue explained to Remy while he groaned.

"I know" he wheezed, in her head, Ororo could hear the shire pleasure that Remy's pain had brought Emma. While Rogue and the other's laughed the other limo started to pull up, Pietro dragged himself away from Kitty and stood at attention next to Ororo as Magneto stepped out of the car.

"A lovely show as always." Magneto said as Hank climbed out from the car as well, talking to Logan, however he was distracted by Kitty who was waving him over. Ororo noticed him move away just as Hank and Magneto started to engage Ororo in conversation. "I didn't have a chance to talk to you after the show, what did you think Storm?" Eric asked.

Ororo smiled pleasantly but various thoughts were running around in her head about the location of Mystique, "It was magnificent, I am amazed of your cultural entertainment on this island."

"I was saying the exact thing Ororo." Hank chimed in, "This will definitely go in my report, a single community coming together as one to enjoy a show...I wish our cities were like that."

Magneto just smiled at him, behind Ororo someone was opening the door for them and Ororo turned around to have Hank guide her in, "Our community is a lot closer than it is in cities like...let's say New York." Ororo made no reaction, knowing that Magneto would watch for one, "The mutants who come here are ostracised in their own homes and love the feel of acceptance by those who are equal to them."

Still not making a reaction as they walked the halls, Ororo thought to herself about Magneto's choice of words. _Equals?_ What was he implying? Ororo wondered if Magneto was just up to his whole 'Homo superior' deal again, but maybe she was just over reacting. Yes, that was it.

Ororo was taught a life lesson, the one on the street was that people didn't change, people may be knocked down but they will come back in forces. The lesson that Xavier taught her was that anyone could change. That's what he had told her when she was anxious about moving to his school, saying that she couldn't change and she was better off left on the street.

Magneto continued while they walked through tall ominous hallways "Like New York, everyone has to work to make the city work, but unlike like the great city, people care more about each other. We have jumped and leaped forward in technology, education, philosophy and medicine and all because Mutants with their own knowledge on these subjects can work with as much money as they need."

"Because like we said before" Wanda continued for her father "since the community works together, jobs that we see fit to be more important get more funding since we don't need to spend money on buildings."

"Since our city is made of metal" Pietro attached onto the end.

"Well no one can say that this city is not efficient" Hank commented.

"I agree" Nightcrawler said in awe, he glanced over at Wanda who smiled bashfully. Next to her, Kitty gagged. Ororo almost rolled her eyes at the sister like behaviour that Kitty was displaying but she realised that she would be doing the same thing by rolling her eyes and playing the same imaginary game that they were a big family.

Which they sort of were.

Well, almost were. Logan next to her gave a sort of feral smile but Ororo felt a stone in her gut. Mystique.

She may be a manipulative and evil person, but the professor preached about second chances, and they deserved to give one to Mystique. Unlike Magneto, she had tried to change after she was human and after she had her power returned, she did not immediately try to do anything then try to get close to her children. She had her children's best intentions at heart and although Rouge hated the sight of her mother, Kurt might be willing to give her another chance. But first of all, Ororo had to get Mystique away from the toxic aura that was Magneto. Perhaps if Mystique could be in a good natured environment then maybe she would be a person that Rogue would look up too. But Ororo knew that there was going to be no way that Magneto would let out Mystique, she had been his fateful partner throughout the years and still knew a lot about that man who ran an entire country.

_Mystique, _Emma started, _is a hard woman to find. Her signature is always changing and it is hard to pinpoint her. But I am sure that she is being held somewhere in the mansion. From other minds in the area, I can tell that she is being held there with someone else. Both are being held for some sort of questioning or torture._

_Which one? _Ororo asked.

_I can't tell! The thoughts in this area are being blocked, not completely but enough that I can't get anything._

_Well thank you anyway, keep in touch._

Well it was obvious now that Mystique was being held against her will, and if she wanted to get out alive (or sane) then Ororo was going to have to take action. But who on earth would help Ororo with this dilemma?

She needed someone who could stealthily get around the city, so that left Logan out (metal bones trying to hide in the kingdom of a metal controlling man, not a really good idea) and Peter (he wasn't all that sneaky) and Hank (she needed him as a distraction mostly), someone who would willingly participate in this rescue, that eliminated Rogue and Kurt and to a lesser extent Gambit. That left Kitty.

They finally arrived at the grand dining room and it too, like the rest of Genosha, was made of metal. Ororo knew that she had to be seated next to Kitty and as far away from Magneto and his children if she wanted to talk about her plan to Kitty. Thankfully there were no place cards around the table, ignoring the glances from both Magneto and Logan she followed Kitty and sat at the end of the table. Rogue and Gambit sat across from her and Kitty, and Peter had chosen to sit with Gambit (Remy would argue later on that he did not force Peter from Kitty, he just strongly directed Peter away from a hyper active teenager/young adult).

Ororo was glad that he did as convincing Kitty to do this mission with Peter watching Kitty would be difficult.

Kitty sat right next to the head of the table (which was unoccupied since there was no chair, Magneto had the only high rating seat and made it seem all the more powerful) while Ororo sitting next to her, barely noticing Logan who sat next to her as he was engaged in conversation with Pietro (about Canada, or sport or something. Ororo just focused on the fact that Logan was distracted).

Kitty has settled down a lot from before, the separation from both her friends and being sat next to Ororo and the grumpy southern woman across from her would do that to a person. Kitty was back to her usual peppy self but was more focused, so Ororo started to engage her in the plan before someone would happen. "Kitten, Mystique is missing.'

"Yeah, but Magneto said that she went to visit Rogue's aunt Irene." Kitty answered, picking up her fork and twirling it around on the table, Ororo tapped into Emma. _Emma, I need you to set up a direct connection to Kitty._

_Oh dear lord I hate her mind, it is truly annoying how Kitty just goes on and on about stuff I really do not care for, _Emma complained, back in the real world, Kitty had leant forward and asked Rogue what she thought of the show. Ororo knew that Kitty was used to be mentally connected to people and had learnt never to react when it happened, it was something she had been trained for since she was thirteen years old. _I've connected to you to Kitty, but you must know-_

_Kitty can't talk and mentally talk at the same time? Yes I know all too well._ Ororo sighed, but at least she was better than...nope, Kitty was the worst. _Kitty, there is something terribly wrong with Mystique, I know that you hold a grudge against her but I think she knows more about this island then she is letting on. _

_What do you mean? _Kitty replied.

Aloud, Rogue was retelling a story of her aunt Irene, while Ororo was eating a first course soup and commented out loud "And she was blind and she knew what you were doing?" when mentally Ororo explained the conversation she overheard in the dressing room as quickly as possible. They weren't even through a fifth of the meal before Ororo was explaining her plan. _We must get to Mystique. _Ororo finished, glancing over to Logan and smiling as he caught her eye. She felt awful leaving him out of this, but Logan had all the tact of...actually, did Logan have much to begin with? Looking away she went back to her meal and explained her plan to Kitty without Emma making a remark and for once actually helping.

_From what I can gather from the kitchen, _Emma told them as the plan was about to be set in motion, _this was the first course of a 5 course meal. The next is seafood and I saw the other day that Ororo will not smell, let alone be in the same room as seafood, before she throws up. Logan has not noticed the trend since this is new. He is also an open book and will let his little _Kitten _attend to Ororo in a situation like this. But as I've noticed, you have 20 minutes at the most before he will come to ask for you._

_Well, _Kitty thought as she leant back in her chair for her plate to be removed, _you pay attention. _Kitty assumed.

_Kitty, my dear, there is a difference in not caring and paying attention. _Emma smartly retorted.

_Okay Kitty, here it goes. _Ororo thought as she held a small breath as the new course came into the room. This was going to take some concentration so this would look realistic while not actually real. So she just smiled and nodded as Hank was telling a story from his work. And despite many political stereotypes of office stories, it was actually a pleasure to listen to. As the food was placed in front of her, she started to gag and cover her mouth.

"Ororo is something wrong?" Rogue asked as Kitty put a hand on Ororo's shoulder. Ororo made a turn to the side to make sure that Magneto was paying attention. He was. Perfect.

"I think I'm going to be sick" Ororo gasped, covering her mouth as she made gagging noises behind her hand. Ororo looked quickly at Logan who went to stand but Kitty just waved him down.

"I'll take her. Magneto, closest bathroom?' she asked.

"Oh yes, just down that hall there and fifth to the right." Magneto said. Ororo thought he sounded concerned but she had no time to think as she ran from the room, hearing Kitty follow her and the titters of conversation starting again. This was nothing new to the X men.

Ororo ran far from the room before she stopped and took a staggering breath of air before running into the bathroom, Ororo knew that Magneto would have cameras everywhere in his private home, but the one place that offered dignity was the bathroom. After she ducked into the room Kitty phased through the door and laughed. "Good one, if I had known better I would think you would be puking right now."

"Thank you Kitten for that...lovely compliment" looking around quickly, she grabbed Kitty's shoulder and Kitty immediately phased them through the floors. They went deeper and deeper and being on the ground floor meant that they only passed through solid rock. _You're getting close. _Emma's voice echoed, getting faint.

"What's happening?" Kitty asked in a hushed tone, "I can't hear Emma anymore"

"It must be a protected area that telepaths can't see or hear past. I guess Magneto learnt many things while working with Xavier."

"Yeah, no shit" Kitty whispered as she started to slow in her descent. "We are nearing some sort of gap, must be where Magneto is aiming to protect."

"It must be Mystique." Ororo assumed. As they floated down and landed without a sound on metal floors, the walls were still made of shiny metal and of course, there was security everywhere. However Ororo and Kitty were able to duck out of the way before a guard that looked like a sort of crocodile passed by. Across from them were two steel doors, one with a window and one without.

Checking quickly, Kitty ran over to the door with the window and looked through the glass. Ororo followed her with the same path and didn't have to stand on tip toe to look through the small panel of glass. Ororo was disgusted with what she saw.

Mystique was indeed in the room, but she was battered, her mouth dripped with blood and her left eye was swollen shut. She had obviously passed out with all the evidence of bruises over her body, and to make it worse (if possible) she was hung by the wall in thick dirty chains. Her hands were cuffed together above her head and her feet bound together.

Ororo recognised the designs of the metal of those that bound Mystique when she was being held by the state not even 7 years previously. Ororo realised that either this technology was stolen from the scene or the plans for these growing and shrinking chains was stolen. Either way, Mystique was still in a locked room and passed out by the horrible treatment she had inflicted by Magneto and his goons.

"Okay, hold on 'Ro" Kitty whispered before dragging Ororo into the room. Quickly, Kitty and Ororo looked around the room for other guards or cameras, and it seemed that Magneto was confident enough not to have much security in the room except for a poorly hidden camera (which Kitty phased her hand through, short circuiting the camera).

As Kitty started to phase Mystique out of the cuffs, Ororo looked around the room and held her ear against another door. This was hidden in the once shade of the brightly lit room, it was silent, perhaps this was just a room of instruments used to torture people. It was deadly quiet before Kitty let out an 'oof' of effort she had to use to support Mystique. Despite her small stature, she was a strong young woman.

"Come on, let's go" Kitty urged Ororo, carrying Mystique over one arm and leaving a side for Ororo to hold up.

However, Ororo held up her hand and listened harder at the door. There was a sort of 'feeling' coming from the room, as though someone was inside the room. "Kitten" Ororo said, concluding that it was better safe than sorry to check the room. She walked over to Mystique and took the side that Kitty was leaving for her, she picked up Mystique and smelt the copper smell of blood in the air. "You had better check the room, just quickly."

Kitty sighed but let go of Mystique none the less, running to the other room, worried that they could be caught any second. Kitty phased through the door and then came back out, "There's a woman in there!" she gasped.

Ororo and Kitty looked at each other for a long second before Ororo prompted "Well, go on in and get her out." Kitty nodded and ran into the room. Ororo was left alone with Mystique. Ororo turned Mystique's head towards her and soothed down her hair, the woman was still blue and naked but her hair had been ripped from her scalp, and the bruises more obvious up close.

Ororo almost growled with disgust over what Magneto did to this woman, instead she wiped away the blood that leaked from her mouth, there was huffing from behind Ororo and she looked to see that Kitty was supporting a woman out of the room. Thankfully, the woman was still conscience and was able to walk, her hair all over her face and her clothes ripped, but only a few bruises showed on her milky coffee skin.

The second she was out of the room, the woman cleared the hair from her face and Ororo once again recognised it was Betsy Braddock. Her face was relatively unscratched but she was still a mess. "Oh thank god" she gasped when she saw Ororo holding Mystique. "We must get out of here, there are guards everywhere and we best leave while we have a chance."

"How long do you suppose we have?" Ororo asked, practically dragging Mystique to the door. "Magneto and his family would be busy at dinner"

"Leaving the other guards" Betsy finished. "One time I was able to take out the guards and it took only 85 seconds to replenish."

"Meaning that the door should be knocked down in 3 seconds" Kitty panicked, the door slamming open, the 4 women (one being unconscious and the other pregnant) were faced with mutants that had beaten a woman close to death and were now staring down at them with weapons (and dangerous abilities) at hand.

"Bugger" Betsy stated.

**Yes, I have left this chapter on a cliffhanger, and yes I haven't updated in like, forever. I know, I know, I feel bad. I will try to write faster but I have a lot of work and I don't even get a computer over the Christmas vacation (in Australia, that's from the end of November till the start of February) but I will update once more before the holidays and then I will try to steal a computer so I can write some more.**

**Janet Van Dyne is a character who owns a fashion label in the House of M series and actually dressed Ororo for the House of M ball.**

**I just wanted to point out Mystique being able to make a dress out of nothing, one of my favourite moments in the House of M, Wolverine. And Pietro rounding up the others to do something funny? My quote, baby!**

**Yes, Betsy and Mystique are back in the game, and I will do some more with Emma's character next chapter (YAY!) and guess what, it's my birthday! Yep, November 10****th**** I turn 17! (that's right, 17 years of age!) I can't believe! Happy birthday to me!**

**Again, sorry for not updating for so long.**

**Review and make a 17 year old girl in Australia happy!**


	16. The Mocking Bird

**Chapter 15**

**The Mocking Bird**

So there she was, standing with a criminal wanted in every country, a collage student and a woman Ororo had just met and yet to trust, and Ororo was still confident that she would get out of there alive. In front of her stood 3 guards, bigger, angrier and not passed out.

"Oh, so this isn't the bathroom?" Kitty laughed.

"GET THEM!" the female guard yelled.

"Run!" Betsy yelled back, dragging Kitty with her. Ororo followed suit with Mystique, dragging her as she went, Ororo threw out her hand and pulled her electricity force into her hand and used it as a shield to leave the room, she zapped a female mutant out of her way while Kitty dropped Betsy, fighting the guard with all her might. Betsy was still able to pack a punch in the crocodile like face of the guard, however, she was knocked down when he swung back. Ororo dropped Mystique on the ground and ran over to Betsy and tried to zap the guard herself as he daunted the woman.

But the thing about crocodile skin was that it stopped the brunt of the electricity surging through the veins of this man. He leant down slowly with a wide toothy grin and Ororo backed up, almost tripping over Betsy and the female guard on the ground. "A little help please Kitty!"

Suddenly a fist was thrown out and punched the croc man in the face, Kitty was hitting low and high, hitting the man over and over. Ororo tried to pick up Betsy from the floor as Kitty was kicking this guy's behind.

There were grunts of pain and fight as Betsy was looked over by Ororo's soft hands. "Oh wake up!" Ororo said, Betsy wasn't responding very well, Ororo suspected that the impacts of the violence inflicted on her were finally starting to show, Ororo was just glad that she had Kitty to back her up. Ororo looked up to where she had left Mystique next to her chains only to find her gone and that Kitty was fighting the other male guard. But that was impossible if…..

Ororo whipped her head back to the crocodile man and saw that Kitty 2.0 was fighting but there was one difference, there was occasionally a flinch of pain and that original Kitty would usually use her advantage of phasing by missing the heavier blows. Mystique had woken and saw her danger and was now trying to fight her way out, which was pretty amazing Ororo admitted since only a few seconds ago it looked like Mystique would be out for a good long time.

Ororo's arm was gripped suddenly and was pulled from the ground, while she had been daydreaming about Kitty 2.0/Mystique, original Kitty had finished her fight and had phased her opposition through the handcuffs and was now helping her up. "Ororo, are you okay?" she could faintly hear Kitty asking.

"Yeah, yeah, totally fine." Ororo answered as she got up from the floor, helping Kitty to then pick up Betsy.

There was a final grunt of pain and then a heavy thump next to the door, Ororo turned back to Mystique and saw her revert back to her blue form. "Hurry" she said in her two toned voice, "We haven't much time."

Knowing she was right, Kitty and Ororo ran after Mystique back to the wall they appeared through before. There was a slight dilemma though. Kitty was able to levitate to some extent, but the problem was that she couldn't take everyone at once as the massive amount of rock almost drained her before just going down. Due to the condition that Betsy was in, Ororo handed her to Kitty. "Take her up first then immediately come back down, do not talk to anyone in the mean time and keep her hidden."

"Right" Kitty nodded, Ororo handed over the full weight of Betsy and watched as Kitty walked into the wall. And so Ororo was left with Mystique, a woman who she didn't know if she was on her side or simply fighting for her own ways again.

"So" Ororo started off, wanting to mentally slap herself for this lame start of conversation, still looking at the wall but the corridors for anyone coming. "Care to explain?"

"No."

"Really?" she asked, flinching as she heard the panic alarms for the room they just escaped. "Because I think you owe me an explanation for saving you just now."

"I would have been fine you know."

"Yes of course, strapped to a wall, bleeding heavily from the head and the only way to escape is from the front door, I'm sure you would have made it." Ororo responded, her words dripping in sarcasm. Mystique however just growled. Ororo knew she struck a nerve there, turning towards Mystique again she was suddenly dragged away from the wall by the woman in question. Mystique took her past the room she was trapped in. There were shouts from far off and Ororo figured that they were coming for the prisoners that had escaped.

Mystique opened the door to the new room next to the cell she was in, the only difference was that this room held little light but two more closet cells, a small table and two chairs. Looking around Mystique pushed her away to the table, "stay down." She hissed.

Ororo glared, how dare she make orders to her, but Mystique had the right idea as she started to barricade the door with the table, Ororo tried to pick up the other chair and move it over but it was made of metal, iron of sort. Dragging it over and wondering how on earth Mystique could do it in her condition, Ororo could see that although these were the people that tortured her, Mystique was keeping her cool and making good decisions. This might be because she was in the situation before and was stronger for it or because Mystique actually could make good solid plans….Ororo was leaning towards the former idea.

Mystique tried looking out the door in a small peep hole provided. Ororo was looking around the room and finally noticed something.

It was small.

It was enclosed.

Ororo started to breathe heavily as she tried to stay calm. She was fine, perfectly fine, she was just stuck in a small room with a convicted criminal and people on the outside trying to kill her. This was great. Even Ororo knew she was lying to herself. Ororo backed up till she hit the stark white wall behind her, trying to think of other ways she could get out of the room. There was no air vent and the commotion of the missing prisoners still had the guards in a frantic on the outside.

Then the worst happened, there was a heavy thumping from the other side of the door, as though someone was trying to get in, and by the way that Mystique staggered to hold the blockage against the door, it looked like they were succeeding. Ororo tried to pull herself together to fight off the guards, breathing in soothing ways as she took a step forward, when suddenly she was pushed back. Mystique had grabbed her arm and was pulling her away from the door, and away from the wall.

And into a smaller, darker room.

"Stay, you cannot fight without becoming a liability." Mystique told her, before she slammed the door in Ororo's face. That was possibly the worst thing to do at the moment. Ororo stood in silence for a maximum of a second before she started to freak out. She could hear the commotion on the other side of the door but all she could focus on was the space she was in and trying to get out. Ororo was in a frenzy as she pounded on the door, eyes lightened up as her power was starting to take on a defensive stance. She had to get out of this room, it was a life or death situation. Ororo cursed to herself over this irrational fear, but a phobia was just that. Ororo moved around the metre by metre room, pitch black, and as Ororo felt around the room with shaking hands she could not figure another way out.

Ororo's panting increased as her eyes turned bright white, her fingers jumping with electricity. There was nothing holding her back, Ororo forgot about Mystique on the other side of the door, she forgot Kitty coming back to get her, Ororo forgot about her baby while her focus returned to the main problem. Get out of the room. She could smell the fire, hear the screams, feel the roof caving in on her. Cursed by memories.

All at once the room became too much and Ororo could feel herself fading fast before she remembered her child and fell backwards, hitting her head and passing out, moaning as the sounds of the fight outside became less important but all too much loud, her eyes shutting before the sound left completely, blood tinging her white hair.

oOOo

Beep. The first sound that Ororo woke to.

Beep. What an awful sound.

Beep. Or was it a miracle sound?

Beep. Where was she?

Beep. Was she safe?

Beep. Or was she in deep trouble?

Beep. Was her child safe?

Beep. Was Logan worried?

Beep. Did the others make it out okay?

Ororo's eye lids felt grainy and hard, she didn't want to open them but she knew she had too to figure where she was, so while the insistent beeping continued on, Ororo slowly opened her eyes and was blinded by the white light above her head. She blinked at the light before it became clear it was just that, a light, a simple light bulb above her head, a ceiling of a few burns and a chip of wall missing. They hadn't had time to redo the room since a freak out from a student a month ago.

She was back home, with a sudden panic Ororo raised her hand to her stomach and sighed in relief that the bump was still there. She hadn't lost the baby but the event that caused her to be her taught her a few things. One, she was able to use electricity without harming the child, two, she wasn't dead.

Dropping her hands on the table again Ororo slowly turned her head to the direction of the door, but she wasn't able to turn far due to the holder around her neck. Furring her brow in confusion she tried to touch the thing around her neck and felt the cool plastic all the way around her head. Moving her fingers around the base of the thing, she found the hidden switch and she was freed from her bind, it was painful to sit up. She looked back down to where she had just been and saw it was a brain monitor she was hooked up too. Ororo didn't understand why.

Then she felt her head, her left hand was raised to her head and she felt fabric instead of hair. Confused, Ororo tried to get down to find a mirror, perhaps find someone who would answer her questions on why she was there.

All the energy she possessed was used to move.

She moved her legs over the side of the bed/table she was on and saw her legs were dressed in a pair of the hospital shorts and that her stomach was in a white tank top. The pounding in her head from this little movement proved to Ororo that she must of hit her head pretty damn hard.

Ororo groaned as she fell from her perch and stumbled over to the wall which held a small mirror over the clean metal sink, her face had a small bruise forming on her cheek and she had giant bags under her eyes, not so bad, Ororo thought. The one that got her attention though was a gauze patch on the side of her head that was tinted red in the middle, held down by tap on her face and a bandage around her head. She looked ridicules.

She gritted her teeth, pulling her hand up to peel back the tape when she heard sneakers squeaking behind her. Dropping her hands to her side Ororo looked in the reflection of the mirror to see Rogue enter the room, she stopped dead when she saw the bed empty but saw Ororo and kept walking towards the place Ororo was sleeping on just before. "Finally up." Rogue stated.

"Yes"

"Confused?"

"Very." Ororo answered, turning around to Rogue. They both looked at each other before Rogue turned around, pointing her pen at the bed, a gesture of Ororo to sit. Ororo slowly walked over, her eyes on her feet as she moved, her head banging to the sound of silent drums. "What happened?"

"Ya know what usually happens when ya freak. We didn't have thime to score the lab but we found ya in the room, got out and left."

"What about Mystique?" Ororo asked as she slowly sat on the bed, looking as Rogue pulled out a small light, mumbling to follow the light with her eyes. "And Betsy?"

"Both fhine." She answered shortly, putting the light back in her pocket and putting a pair of gloves and picking up a tray and sitting it next to Ororo. "Now shhh, what year is it?"

Ororo sighed. "Do I have to answer this?" Rogue moved her head down and gave her a raised eyebrow, and answered her question with a roll of her eyes. Rogue asked her other questions followed by the same obvious answer before she got to the last question while Rogue tested her reflexes and such.

"And where are ya?" she asked as she pushed back Ororo's hair, finally down with reflexes.

"Xavier's school for gifted youngsters, and I'm in the medic lab. Ouch." Ororo hissed as Rogue ripped the tape from her head. "and you are the mean doctor who lives here."

Rogue snorted, "Well, it looks lhike all motor and memory functions are workin', are ya feelin' any pain anywhere?"

"Nope." Ororo gripped her stomach, "the baby?"

"Checked everythin' and anythin', nothin' happened. Ya just hit your head."

"I don't know if I should feel better about passing out when you say that." Ororo joked, "How long have I been out?"

"36 hours, we've been worried sick." Rogue answered.

Ororo dropped her right hand to steady herself as Rogue pulled out the light again and checked Ororo's head wound. "So how long will I be in here?"

"Just till tomorrow, Ah need to watch you over nhight and Ah need to change your dressin." They sat in silence as Rogue changed the dressing.

"Alright." Ororo started to get up again before Rogue pushed her back down.

"Where do you think you are going missy?"

"To my room?" Ororo guessed.

"EH! Wrong!" Rogue told her, making a buzz sound. Putting her gloves and bandages on the table, "You can stay in one of the other hospital rooms but ya gotta stay down here, you can't have any stress and Ah want limited people down here with ya." Ororo watched as Rogue picked up a medical file (obviously Ororo's), "Come on, Ah'll show ya the room." Ororo gingerly got off the bed beside Rogue down the halls. "It's only for a nhight, you can stay down here and ya can help me mark some papers."

"Joy." Ororo replied sarcastically. Rogue laughed as well and opened up the 2nd room, it was dressed in autumn tones, the walls ferret brown and oak bedside table, the lamps were a leaf orange and the bedspread the same color of the walls. It was simple but had a few of Ororo's possessions, a few of her clothes, her laptop, a few papers and photographs, the one of her and the team and the one of her family. "Oh, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you brought down these things."

Rogue quirked her eye brow before looking around the room, "Ah didn't do this."

"I did." Ororo quickly turned around and saw Logan leaning against the door. "Thought you would need a lift. And I was bored of wondering when you would wake up."

"Well she's alive and kicken now." Rogue told her, leaving the room, "don't do anything Ah would do."

"LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THAT IS." A voice yelled down the hall.

"Excuse meh." Rogue told them, holding up her finger to the happy couple before she stuck her head out the door. "SHUT UP YOU SWAMP RAT!" Rogue yelled back.

"MAKE ME!"

Rogue smiled pleasantly back at Ororo and Logan, "Uh, Ah'm going to go check on tha other patients."

When Rogue left Ororo turned to Logan, "How did he hear that?" Ororo asked.

"He's got one of the kids listening for her."

Ororo gave a little laugh as she moved closer to her Wolverine "We can expect this sort of joke for weeks." She wrapped her arms around his neck, "and weeks." She got her toes "and weeks." She whispered, her lips closer to her target every second. Logan leaned down and Ororo feel him smell her, Ororo's heart fluttered as she got closer to Logan, his beard scratching her nose. Finally, she was able to kiss him, it was as though she had been brought back to life, that she was passed out till now.

She shouldn't do this, she had just woken up and it was doctor's orders not to do this but-oh she was in ecstasy. It was pure pleasure, this kiss was arousing her but she couldn't act on it, what with her being here. She should stop this, should totally do this, but he was caressing her waist and she almost died, when his calloused fingers reached that small gap of skin under her shirt and above her shorts she felt the electricity that was always present when they touched. Ororo's mouth opened and she started to feel like a teenager again as she trembled, before she started to get dominant. The heat of this was a lot, she started to melt as she touched his jaw with her long fingers.

Then it started to get hotter, she wanted him, right here, in the hospital room. Logan broke away from her and Ororo had to stop herself from whimpering, oh she wanted it so bad.

"Sorry, just that we have a few visitors waiting for you in the other room. And if they saw this…well." Ororo knew what he was going to say and shrugged, patting his shoulder as she went to sit in the bed, Logan moved the covers for her and sat her down, kissing her head as he moved away again.

Ororo sighed, first person to enter was going to get it, "Alright send them in."

Logan gave her a roguish grin before leaning out the door of the room, "Come on guys, she's ready for people."

Cautiously the teaching staff entered her room, as well as Betsy, they were not that annoying quiet that people usually use when entering a hospital room, instead they were talking happily and Kitty came over and hugged her instantly. She reached up and hugged Kitty back as she started to talk in her ear about how she was so sorry that she didn't get her first, that Peter was keeping her happy, all the students asking about her and she couldn't wait to have her back. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Logan motioning Peter to get Kitty off Ororo.

Kitty was lifted away so that the others could finally see Ororo and she could see them. It was strange and Ororo was not used to so many people looking after her, it actually made her feel loved. Ororo smiled softly as the others talked to her and sometimes to the others in the room. Emma dodged the others out of the way, "So how have you been?" she asked, very scary genuine concern. It was strange.

"I have been better, what about you and the students?"

"Well….you know." Emma grinned before pulling out something behind her back, it was a very thought out white rose in a small white vase based with diamonds, it was sweet and thought out as the rose was fresh and cut only an hour ago at the most, and not last minute as the vase was obviously ordered from an expensive and exclusive store. "Here." She said, putting the flower into Ororo's hand before stalking off out of the room, "things to do." She stated before she left. Ororo smiled after her, Emma was diamond and didn't feel a thing, her feelings cut off.

Or so it would seem since Scott died.

Warren watched from outside the hall and Emma spoke to quickly before walking away, they were by far the closest to each other than anyone else. Rogue and Remy argued in the back of the room, Kitty was sitting on the bed while Peter told her to calm down but fumbled over his words with sweet smiled from Kitty. Bobby was standing next to Ororo's bedside and he chatted casually about what life outside of the med area was like, when Betsy came forth with Logan by her side, Ororo was slightly surprised, while Bobby sort of stopped with a glare from Logan. "She has something to say." Logan snarled, shoving Betsy forward with his shoulder.

"Bugger off." Betsy spat back, "look Ororo, I'm sorry. But I have perfectly good reason for this."

"You should explain later when there aren't as many people." Ororo supplied, glaring at Logan. He sighed and let go of Betsy's arm, but he did not move far from her. Ororo enjoyed being surrounded by her loved ones again, but she couldn't stop thinking that she was being watched, her friends watching her every movement.

oOOo

The soothing words of '_To kill a Mocking Bird_' was almost sending Ororo into sleep, it had been months since she read it last and she always loved the feeling of closure when she read it, it was the first book she ever read when she moved to the states. She was young when her parents died and had never learnt to read properly, but with the help of Charles, Jean and Scott she made it through the entire book. It was also the first present she ever received since the fire.

Ororo sighed as she marked her page and put it next to her, it had been a long day and she was finally ready to go to sleep. It was midnight and she wanted to pass out, glad that the halls of the medical area were silent as the grave and that the lights were low.

That was before she heard Logan, Ororo almost groaned in frustration, oh, what the hey.

"What?" she groaned as Logan came in, dragging a very small, angry woman with him. "What are you doing?"

"Betsy told me something that I thought you should know." Logan shot back, shoving Betsy towards the bed, "Tell her." He commanded, as if there was no other choice if she refused.

Ororo looked over to Betsy and smiled softly, Betsy was dragged in wearing a loosely tied medical rope that was probably given to her and bed hair, Ororo scowled at Logan. "Did you take her from her room?"

"No." Logan said before looking away, "I found her in the kitchen."

"Logan-!" Ororo started, sitting up in bed.

"Look!" Betsy said, putting her arms up and closing her eyes for a second too long, "Can I tell you what I know before I pass out! I've been awake for 2 days so let me sleep! Please!" she said, exhausted. Ororo felt ashamed, fighting in front of a woman who was found almost dead a couple of days ago.

"Sorry, go ahead." Ororo said, Logan lent forward and tugged Logan down to sit on the bed.

Betsy smiled before she put her hand on the side table, "Okay, I am really Betsy Braddock, this is not my original body and I have telepathic and telekinetic powers and would be useful to you, so, by the way I'm staying here for good this time!"

"We still have to decide that." Ororo told Betsy.

"Okay, look, I was under Mastermind's control, from the time I entered the room you put me in till the time I went back to Genosha, I had no control of what I was doing but from what Pietro teased me about. When I thought I went to sleep I was actually under Mastermind's control-"

"Who is this Mastermind?" Logan asked.

"A mutant with the ability to cast…illusions in your mind, I was so tired that when I fell asleep I didn't protect my mind." Betsy shook her head, "anyway, I can teleport in the shadows, Logan here asked me about that."

Ororo nodded, the most important thing though was "Why were you doing that, what was the point of being controlled?"

"Look, don't be mad, I've already got rid of them all. Disabled every last one of them."

"Got rid of what?" Logan asked, getting up off the bed.

Betsy looked away from their faces and huffing her hair out of her face, "The cameras." She said, turning back to them.

Ororo stopped still. It was all making sense, why Magneto knew too much, far too much for intuition, Ororo knew that man was up to no good when they went to Genosha. "This explains everything." Ororo gasped, her head in her hands, shaking, "that's how he knew! That's how he knew everything!"

"Knew what?" Logan asked.

"He knew about the baby." Ororo whispered turning to Logan, Logan was beyond angry his feral snarl alerting those in the room to that, but Ororo could see a flash of panic. It was there for only a second but it was enough to know that Logan had felt betrayed and scared for his child. "Betsy, leave" Ororo muttered, not looking at her.

Betsy got the unspoken message that it was just to leave the area, not the leave the house, and Ororo could feel the panic but the relief of Betsy as she got the hell out of there. Logan turned away from Ororo and paced up and down the room, "How could she?" Logan asked.

"She wasn't under her control." Ororo explained, although she knew that Logan knew, it was more just to comfort herself. "Knowing that this wasn't her fault, do you still feel….?" She asked him, leaving the end of the sentence open for his own interpretation.

Logan looked her dead in the eye and answered her "Pissed, betrayed, angry?" he supplied, before looking away, "Yeah" he muttered.

Ororo sat and stared at her hands, they were chipped from trying to claw her way out of the small confined room, it was a position she was possible put in by Betsy, but "It wasn't her fault." She told Logan this time, Logan stopped pacing and just stood still, like a lion in wait. Ororo tossed back her covers of her bed and got out of bed, her feet hitting the cold ground for the first time this evening, she approached Logan from behind. "You know it Logan, if this happened to Rogue or Kitty or any of the others, you wouldn't blame them." Ororo told him, her hand reaching for his shoulder, then landed with the grace of a butterfly "If I did this you wouldn't blame me." She told him.

She felt him tense at the truth of her words. But he would still need time to think, "When she came to me on that night" Ororo started, trying to explain to Logan, "she was so tired, I could see it in her. I doubt she would be able to stay awake for another night under her own will."

"I still don't trust her 'Ro."

"You never trust anyone, that's your problem."

Logan turned swiftly around and took Ororo by the wrist, not enough to cause a bruise or a mark but enough to give her a fright. "Maybe you shouldn't be so trusting." He told her as he lowered her wrist so he could move himself closer to Ororo.

She waited for him, it was his turn to make all the right moves, careful passion was coming off him in waves as he lowered his face lower to her, her lips parted as she breathed him in, he wasn't able to do anything at the moment with her but Ororo wished he was able to ravish her body right now and take his instincts and use them. But doctor's orders, damn that rogue doctor, Ororo instead just moved forward.

Logan let go of her hand as they both moved, his in the direction of her hair while hers to his shoulder and hair, trying to rip it out with the heat of it all. Oh it been too long, almost a 3 days, since they last did this, she was dying for her need for him. She sounded a bit desperate and she knew it, but she was acting like Mother Theresa before that night, and now she couldn't get enough. It wasn't just convenience though, Logan wasn't just the 'right man, right time' kind, he was the 'we should have been doing this the whole time' sort. And how she wanted to do this the whole time right now.

But life has to throw some bad lemons sometimes, she moved away from his mouth to tell him that they should stop, but he started to attack her neck with his amazing kisses, Ororo hoped that he wouldn't leave a mark. "Logan." She sighed, too soft for him to hear, "Logan." She tried again, getting enough attention for him to make a sort of humming noise, "We got to-we got-we have to stop." She sighed. She should get a medal for how hard that was.

"Trust me." He said, moving his nose along her jaw line, throwing their previous conversation back at her, "you can have it if you want it." he then bit down on her ear lobe, making her knees shake.

Ororo groaned, wanting to push away but needing to be close to him. She had to stop, work tomorrow, life tomorrow, sex and the god of it could wait until then. "Logan, I promise," she whispered to him, "you can do whatever you want with me _tomorrow_ but sleep now."

Logan growled as the African goddess backed away from him and gave a gentle push to him for the opposite direction, she heard Logan slink away behind her and Ororo just smiled to her pillow as she closed into it, if tomorrow went badly then she always had the chance to throw her frustration out on Logan while they got pure pleasure out of it.

oOOo

Well today was relatively boring, classes went as normal and students were delightful, more so than usual. Ororo was suspicious but she would ask questions later, perhaps the other staff members asked them to be nice. As the normal mediocre Tuesday drew to an end Ororo was so glad she could eat home cooked food, and get into her own bed. She felt bad that she might have to blow Logan off later tonight, but she was getting tired now a days, what with her pregnancy. Ororo juggled her books in hand as she dropped them off to her room before she went to dinner.

She had sat in her office doing actual work, talking about normal problems with students and was almost back to her old schedule before she got pregnant. She had hardly spoken a word to the others today, not having a second for lunch and choking down her breakfast, almost throwing up before she had to be in class. It was normal and boring.

She kind of missed it, other than the cramps, the hormones and the occasional sway of nausea, this was boring and she liked it! There was no Magneto to worry about, no government and no anti-mutant citizens, it was just her and her school. Her students. Her burn marks on the wall….she needed someone to repaint that. Ororo made a mental note about that before she opened her door and looked at her stairs up to her actual room. Ororo remembered she was late for dinner, so she left her books on the stairs before walking quickly to the dining hall.

This will be nice, Ororo wondered what they were having for dinner tonight. See, casual, this was normal. No more, "Is a fight going to break out?" running through her mind, just what was happening to her and her alone. Well, not her alone, there was another person here as well. Mmmm, it smelled like spaghetti. Yum. She must get the students to keep their rooms cleaner, they were a mess with over crowded students so therefore, too much stuff.

But at the moment. Food.

She used her power to make herself light so she could walk faster, she was so hungry. She walked down the stairs before heading to the kitchen and saw that she was one of the first to get her meal, but being a teacher and a pregnant woman….she would eat them given the chance. Well, not really, but Rogue said that she started to look hungry, if anyone got in her way, she seemed to get whitened eyes.

She said a few greetings to the other children while she saw Peter pouring the food onto plates and keeping the younger kids away from sharp objects or the older kids away from the other food. The task of giving out the food was to make sure every student was fed and was actually given a meal. Peter's soft smiles to the children were beautiful but Ororo could see how he was still a bit cut up that his girlfriend had to leave. Kitty left late last night (almost morning) and wouldn't be back for a good couple of weeks.

"I'm worried about you Peter." Ororo told him, patting his shoulder as he gave her the food.

"Worry not." He told her as she focused on the food, Ororo would lick her lips but she was worried that would creep out the students. So she just smiled to Peter before she walked off, and when she knew that no one was watching, she smelled her food. Delicious.

Ororo held her plate with a steady hand as she moved into the dining room and saw if was filling up fast after her, the some of the staff were already sitting. She sat down and looked up and noticed something. Who the hell was she looking at? The woman in front of her had pale milk skin and a short black bob, striking blue eyes standing out from the black and white look of the woman, Ororo knew she had seen her before.

"Hello?" Ororo asked in complete confusion. The woman looked panicked to see that Ororo didn't know who she was, so she looked at the person sitting next to her, Kurt, who was picking at his food. Ororo furrowed her brow and stared at Kurt, he slurped up his spaghetti like he was a bird who caught the worm. "Kurt? Who is this?" Ororo asked.

"Raven." He answered, as though Ororo already knew. Ororo glanced back at the woman and noticed that she sat next to Rogue, (who had moved as close to possible to Remy. And that was something.) the table was almost silent. Logan, Bobby and Warren had yet to arrive, Betsy and Emma were across from each other having a stare down as their forks hovered over their food. Ororo still didn't even know who Raven is.

"Again, Kurt, I don't understand who this-"

"Hello, I'm Raven." She said, sticking out her hand for Ororo to shake. Ororo shook it and looked with uncertainty to Kurt for him to explain. Instead Raven went on, "I just started yesterday while you were under, Kurt asked me to come in to help." Ororo stared at her, she was only out for a day. Who would come in only for a day? But things fell into place, she only came in yesterday, she had an obvious connection with Kurt and Rogue hated her. Raven…the name! Raven Darkholme!

"Mystique!" Ororo let out in a gasp.

"How did she know that?" Raven asked, banging her hands on the chair. She blew her hair out of her face, "Fine, whatever." She muttered.

"And who approved Mystique to work here?" Ororo asked.

"Emma did, being vice headmistress while you were out yesterday." Raven told her, looking over to the woman in question. Who was still staring down Betsy. "She said you never have enough staff and that since I adapt, that I can be the substitute teacher."

Ororo looked down at her food, then at Raven, then at Emma. Risk her hot meal for Raven. It was really hard, what should she do? So instead, she turned to Emma on her left, "Care to explain?" she asked. Emma didn't look to her, nor spoke to her. "Hello?"

"Wouldn't do that if I were you." Remy told her. "It's an epic battle of wits here, telepath verse telepath, girl on girl." He smirked to Rogue while she rolled her eyes, "it's hot."

Ororo ate some of her food quickly, oh goddess, so good, she was starved, she knew she must look very unlady like while she ate her food with the speed of a freak runaway train. Remy leaned over to Rogue and while Raven leaned in as well, he muttered something under his breath. There was a second before Rogue's brow raised, before turning to Remy and punching him in the shoulder. "Ah can't speak French, remembah?" she told him.

But Raven growled, "I know what he said and that was crude and disgusting and…and-"

"What did he say?" Kurt asked.

Raven rolled her eyes at the plain incompetence at the table, but gestured with her eyes what it was about. "Oh that is disgusting Remy." Ororo told him.

"That's my sister!" Kurt told him.

"Gross!" Rogue muttered.

"You thought it was sexy." Both Emma and Betsy said at the same time.

Rogue looked shocked as did Kurt and Raven, "No I did not!" she yelled back. Suddenly a fight had broken out with many of the occupants at the table yelling at each other.

"Calm down!" Ororo yelled out, the table turned to her as she sank into her chair. "You are all adults here! Could we please have a civil meal with each other for once!" mumbled apologies followed and the atmosphere calmed. Ororo flicked her hair over her shoulders and ate another fork full of spaghetti. The table was almost silent.

"Stop it." Emma childishly spat at Betsy.

"You stop it." Betsy replied just the same.

"Oh my god!" Ororo muttered, dropping her fork on the empty plate and leaving the room. This was going to be a long year. Before she left the room Ororo turned around and looked at her friends, Raven sat there pouring more water into a glass and handing it to Kurt, then handing another glass to Rogue. She looked on in admiration to her children but they didn't look back, their entire childhood was lost because she was a mutant, but more so, because her chance at a family was taken because of her son's blue skin.

A terrible thing to happen to a new mother, having both children snatched out of her hands. And though she looked like she was protective, she wasn't at time. Mystique only thought of herself, maybe time being tortured by her former employer had taught her that no one would really care if she died. And now she was trying to make people care for her with the same amount of care she felt for them.

Ororo hated thinking about this sort of thing. People shouldn't be thinking if their child is normal in the aspect of looks. But what about her own baby, being raised here? Would that influence the child? Ororo looked down at her hands on her stomach

She watched the table, why was Remy after Rogue? Why did Emma feel threatened by Betsy? And why was Raven still here?

So many questions to be answered.

"Hey." She heard Logan mutter behind her, she turned to him as he kissed her forehead, "What's wrong?" he asked. Should she tell him? Should she tell him that she worried that her baby might be taken from her, that her team of so called Xmen were petty arguing and that the fate of the entire mutant community in this school depended on her.

"Nothing." she said with a perky smile. "Just…." She saw his steaming plate of spaghetti, "getting more food." She said with a hand flip, "okay?"

"Okay, see you in a second, babe."

"Don't call me babe." She smiled at him as he moved past her, Ororo looked over her shoulder as Logan walked away, there were some things that she couldn't tell Logan.

**Another chapter bites the dust! Anyway, this was one of those filler chapters that I had to write, originally I wrote the first part of this chapter for the last chapter, but I decided that the other chapter was far too long. I had once of those moments when I read this, I started thinking what a cool voice Mystique has in the movie, so Mystique is completely awesome. And the comment about Scott was inspired by **_**The Trouble with Weather's**_** last chapter. Here's hoping for a sequel!**

**And I had to mention '**_**To Kill a Mocking Bird'**_** title in this story, I named this chapter after Mystique and how originally something happened to her in my story plan, but with the change in events in my entire plan, I had to keep her awake in this chapter, but I kept in in a sort of remembrance that Mystique is going to try and stop mocking people and try to be with her children. **

**Btw, started my last year of school EVER, and I'm actually going to study this year, and the combination of study, school, going out in the sun with friends, starting my first job and just sleeping and reading if I have time, has impacted on my writing time. I've actually wrote this in January and didn't even have time to look over, that busy! So the gaps might be getting bigger but school takes priority. But perhaps when I have those long breaks over the holidays or during my free time I can write. This might be the last chapter for a while but hang in there and read some other Rolo stories. **

**I am trying to make time for this story, even taking my laptop with me to my vacation to the states! Yeah baby (Too much Austin Powers, sorry)! I'm coming over to the big apple then later to Disney Land! Yay! Very excited! But yes, long plane trips (if I'm not asleep) will be used to write. **

**Review and make a busy, harlequin, New Your bound girl in Australia happy.**


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